Ruby Waters
by PunnyArts
Summary: John is a 23 year old Paranormal investigator and writer, sticking his nose in places they shouldn't be, writing about mythical beings. But what happens when he falls in love with one said myth? I'd love your criticism on this story and use it to improve on future stories! So please enjoy this JohnDave/PepsiCola OneShot!


Your name is John Luis Egbert, at only 23, you're a paranormal investigator extraordinaire as well as a writer. with a mop of messy raven black hair on your scalp, a pair of buck teeth to go with your nerdy glasses, and a white shirt with a blue tie that matches your sky eyes perfectly, no one knows you're not, well, you! But today, you're taking your little sisters, Rose and Roxy, to a fair in Texas, it takes place in a beautiful city called Derse that's right by the country side. The fair always takes place in the 3 summer months, June, July, and August. But you're not going because of the city's Fair, oh no, you're going to see if you can find the mysterious Mermaid it has recently received. Back in Washington, you've gotten a ton of E-Mails and letters to cover it, it's a paranormal OUT BREAK, so for the sake of your career and fans, you've went to Texas. Since two little girls are a lot to handle, you've for- you mean tagged Jane along for the ride.

You've all currently have reached the fair, being welcomed by the ring master, and his comrades, a Psychic, a Lion tamer, an acrobatic with amputated legs, and a clown with purple paint all over his costume. You don't really want to know what happened to the acrobat, but you're impressed he can do a whole lot with just his arms. Today, it's not about them, it's about the newest show stopper, after you've said your hellos and goodbyes, you proceed to take Rose and Roxy to the food booth for some candy. Hoping little girls like themselves don't get sugar high, but you just want the popcorn.

"Hey John. Whenll the show start! U know, the one wth the Mermaid?"

You shake your head

"I dunno Roxy. I wanna know when it does as well, I need to see her for an investigation. I want to know if it's just an act and it's all just miss leading."

"Just an act? John, have you already forgotten that there are some cases of yours that you have proven to be true? Like the Ouija board, The haunted Duplex, and Anne the doll?"

"Rose is right." Jane chimes in "If those are true, don't give up on the possibility of mermaids. Alright bro?"

Rose WAS right, thanks Jane. if those have proven to be true, and the deaths surrounding them were true. There might be hope. But it's mostly for your childhood, and your sisters sake. You've done countless of mysteries surrounding creatures though. The gilled Woman, Big foot, the Lochness Monster, and many others, were and are, proven to be fake as Fuck. But imagine if the creatures that drunken sailors have thought up of were real! Though no one quite knows that the stories you write are all fact. But you can't get rid of the possibility of mermaids living under the very ocean.

Once you got your popcorn and cotton candy, you get a pamphlet blown right in your face. It's about what acts are what time and in which tent. The Mermaid isn't until later, so you decide to seperate from your family and go see the Psychic. Maybe she can tell you something interesting, might kill two birds with one stone. Or even shed some light on your future.

Jane and the twins separate from you, wanting to do something different and more fun, like go on the rides and play the games! Spending money is fun. You suppose. Hopefully the twins won't blow chunks on the rollercoaster or tea cups. Dad would be so mad. So you enter into the tent area and find the psychic. Apparently the woman is in a cobalt colored tent. Not wanting to be waiting in the crowd, you walk on in.

"Hello?"

"John Eg8ert. What a surprise."

As you ceased looking around in the tent, you see a woman with blonde hair, glasses, and a strange tattoo, look at you. She knew your name? Either she reads the books or she's just 'that's so Raven'ing it and can actually gaze into the future. You've always found that aspect to be strange. But hilarious at some points.

"Didn't predict that you would come in. Honestly thought you'd just wa8 on the newest attraction."

"The Mermaid?"

"Yeah that thing, I haven't seen it yet either. Come have a seat. May8e you'd want a hand reading. Make my jo8 easier"

Quietly you sit down in a seat behind the desk. You shouldn't say it's a chair, more of a cozy pillow.

"So I know who you are, let me tell you my name 8efore I forget. Name's Viriska, the realist Psychic in all of Louisiana."

"But this is Derse."

"I'm from Louisiana you twat. Anyways. I 8elieve you want a free hand reading?"

You nod, you've always liked psychics, and astrology. But if you're gonna kill two birds with one stone…

"Uhh sure."

Viriska ponders for a bit as she reads your hand, not sure if she should tell you or not. But she opens her mouth anyways.

"I sense you have a powerful energy at your disposal. The power of the sea. So you're gonna meet a hot ocean 8itch, like, they're literally from the fucking ocean. 8ut 8e warned, you have no idea what the hell you're getting into tonight."

Viriska let go of your hand and got up

"Thirsty m8? I've got some hot cocoa if ya want any. it's suppose to 8e for the kids, 8ut eh. No kid comes in here anyways, it's mostly pregnant woman wanting to know a8out their child's life or a pervert who thought he could take me home."

Your face scrunched up at that. Why would anyone do that?

"I'm kidding dude. Well, only a8out that last part at least. 8ut 8uisness is going slow as shit. So don't tell any one you got this for free. I'll gra8 you a drink."

Viriska snapped her fingers and two warm beverages appeared. Been a while since you've had hot cocoa, brings back memories.

"Thank you. So when did you start working here?"

"'8out three months ago, the last psychic dropped out 8ecause of jerks accusing her of telling them their wrong future. So I stepped in. It was fun for a while. Met some nice people. Saw some great futures, it got 8oring after a while. Kinda shitty."

You nod, completely understanding, and not saying a word about the sudden beverages, hoping to not be rude.

"Hey. Egderp. Thanks for comin', seriously you mean a lot on my career, having a paranormal investig8or come in and not say or give any shit a8out how bull shit you are is really great. You know how to chill. Have fun with your d8 tonight, may8e we could stay in touch?"

You nod, smiling, and finishing your Coaco.

"Yeah. It'd be fun going on paranormal adventures with a buddy! Thank you for the offer! We'll definitely keep in touch."

You quickly grab a sticky note and write down your number.

"See you around Egderp."

You wave goodbye and carried on with your evening. Psychics. Oh how they astound you. Your father visited a psychic who told him what you and Jane were going to be when you grow up. Look at you now! You're a successful writer and adventurer! While Jane is a hard working woman who runs her own company! You couldn't be happier.

You looked at the pamphlet, almost 9! You need to get to the Red and maroon tent! Quickly, you fold the pamphlet and stuff it in your pocket, running towards the place you needed to go. But you stop running when the upper part of your body begins to itch. You'll worry about it later. Right now. You need to see that fish lady

Quietly you get in and stand next to Jane

"Do you see her?" you asked.

"Nothing. The girls can't see anything either, it's weird how the tent isn't crowed either. You'd think that a place this popular and well known would have more-"

"Ladies and Gentle men, Boys and Girls! tonight, we bring you something extraordinary, we at Derse fair present to you… The World's First Live Mermaid!"

Slowly the Royal curtains rise up, revealing a tank with a man inside, only it was a man around your age, with a Red fish tail with shimmering eyes to match, as his blonde hair flowed around in the water, he put his face closer to the tank and looked at his surroundings. His chest going up and down, is he actually breathing in there? His facial features were more noticeable, chiseled jaw, a few freckles here and there, and… are those ear piercings?

Quietly, you step forward and past the crowd of people.

"John! Whats he doin?" Roxy asked Rose

"I don't know, but we're going to find out!"

Quickly Rose tugged Roxy along behind her. Moving quietly around the crowd of grown ups, strange how there were no other kids.

You don't know why, but something is compelling you forwards, once you get close enough to the tank, you crouch down and stare at each other, he can't be real… can he? You put your hand on the glass and wave with the other, curious of how no one is batting an eye right now, was everyone blind? Or were they use to things like this…? Slowly, the man puts his hand on the cold tank, he waved back… and smiled at you, you can't help but smile back, oh well, so much for a hot Mermaid, at least you've-

Wait! John! John no, John no you are not a Homosexual, you are NOT. A. HOMO. SEXUAL! Ok mayyyyybe you are… just a little bit. But he's a fish! Really he could be a person in a costume… wait… are those gills? Holy shit those are gills, shit he's real, he's so fucking real, they're going in and out like a fish, those. Are. Real. As. SHIT! John snap out of it. C'Mon dude snap out of it, hurry up already before you-

"John?"

Quickly you look behind you, it's Rose! Oh few, for a second you thought… no. That's just silly...

"So… I take it you're getting-"

"R-ROSE! NO! JANE HELP ME OUT HERE!"

You continue to blush madly, at this point you're as Red as a tomato.

"You heard him girls, let 'em have their alone time…"

"JANE NOT YOU TOO!"

Quickly you get up, you don't think you can get any redder than you already are, speaking of red, the Mermaid- or should you say Merman, looks up at you, his eyes full of wonder.

"Ladies and Gentle men, the fair will be closing soon, we hope to see you all here again. Have a good night!"

Quietly, you and your sisters make your way to the exit, you have no idea what came over you back there, but you hope to see the Merman again one day… maybe when you come back here again… if you ever do.

"So guess what?"

Jane shook your shoulder, implying you should listen to her.

You hummed a "what?" interested in what she had to say

"I've heard about this cruse ship that's near here if you wanna go check it out! It'll be fun! Hopefully. we'll be back by Tuesday! It'll be fun for all of us! What do you say?"

You shrug, hoping that will calm your nerves, quickly you all get into the car and drive off, a cruse ship? Sounds like fun. You really need the break.

The car trip felt like an hour, in reality it was only 20 minuets, having your sisters in the car and their many "I'm Hungary" "I'm bored" "I'm thirsty" "I'm bat man"'s is not the most exciting thing in the world. But you finally reach the docks, the ship looks massive, there are so many people here, but one in particular catches your eye, he looks so familiar, you just can't put your finger on why though. Once he catches your glance he waves at you and smiles, you can't help but feel warm inside. Soon enough, you all board the ship, hoping to get some relaxation, the night is beautiful, the stars are high in the sky, you can see cancer and the big dipper, but nothing can top the most gorgeous of all… the banana moon, ahh yes, you use to call it that when you were little, when it wasn't a full moon out, sometimes it would look like a banana. Hints the name.

It's been almost an hour on the ship, the crew members are asleep, even the captain, but that hasn't prevented people from roaming around, and you've decided to check it out yourself, your sisters are gone to bed, but you aren't tired, even though it was going to bite you in the ass later on… you decide to check out the front deck, beautiful, absolutely beautiful, the only thing missing is a romantic date… you spoke to soon, someone who looks strangely familiar is right next to you. When you finally work up the courage to say something to the guy, he speaks first.

"Pretty an't it?"

You nodd, it's gorgeous out here. Like nothing you've ever seen, but it was right there in front of you.

"It's lovely… I would take a picture but I've forgotten my phone in my room… say, don't I know you from somewhere?"

The other man nods "I think we've met, you were the the guy at the fair right? Touching the mermaid tank?"

You nod "it was so strange. I felt like I was just being pulled towards him, like something told us to see each other..."

The man nods

"So you where at the Mermaid tank? I didn't see you there… come to think of it, you kind of look like the Merman. What's your name?"

"Dave. Yours?"

"John Egbert."

"Paranormal investigator right?"

You nod, smiling.

"I think I've read a book of yours once, mystery of the Lochness Monster I think? Took like a day to finish it."

You rub the back of your neck, you can't think of anyone who's read THAT one in LESS than a day, other than your dad who reads all of your books.

"Really that book is the longest out of the series, I almost died from making it! Ha ha! My books usually take a week to finish! How did you finish it in a day?"

"pfft, it was easy! I bet I could write one of those in less than a month!"

"Suuuuuure…"

You continue to joke around with Dave, you then place your hand on the railing and look up at the sky. Dave places his hand on top of yours, but you don't oblige, you allow him to keep it there it's soft, warm, and smooth… you notice his left shoulder is glowing, is he alright? Humans shouldn't be able to do that.

"Aww shit! I gotta go. See ya Egderp!"

Quickly Dave jumps on the railing and into the salt water, shocked to see him do this, you quickly jump in after him, making a splash as you broke the water's surface. Why would he do that? Is he nuts? You hope he's alright. Hoping to find him, you open your eyes, the salt stinging them.

You look around for Dave, where is he? _Your lungs hurt._ Is he ok? _Will you be ok?_ Can he swim? _Can you find your way up?_

"JOHN WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?"

DAVE! You want to call out to him, but you can't, slowly you look around, no sign of him, oh no, are you going to die trying to save him? You suddenly see a figure I the distance swimming towards you. Is that Dave? he quickly faces you and stares into your stinging eyes. His red… wait red? Hold up, he has Red eyes? How have you not noticed before? Quickly he holds on to you and swims upwards, breaking the surface.

"JOHN WHAT THE HELL!? YOU COULD HAVE DROWNED YOU ASS!"

You take a good look at him, red eyes… messy blonde hair… gills… wait… gills? Holy shit. Just to make sure, you look down into the water, breaking eye contact, only seeing a long red tail replacing legs.

"Dave! You're the-"

"Egbert! C'mon! Not right now… I need to go. Like now! Yeah I'm the Mermaid at the fair, now can it! I…"

"Dave? Are you ok…?"

Dave looks at you, trying his best to put on a poker face… but failing, instead letting his emotions getting the better of him.

"Look Egbert. If you really want to know… you see this here tatto on my shoulder?"

"You mean the gear shaped thingy?"

"Yeah. That. It reacts to magic. I have this weird thing on my arm and I can't get it off… that's all thanks to some Fuck Ass who toyed with my fucking emotions. He played my heart strings and then cut them up so they're like a fucking useless harp or broken guitar to him now and threw me in the trash, only that Trash bin was a fucking tank. this thing here prevents me from going to far from my "Master" he's a Dick. And when this tatto glows, it means he's calling me, meaning I have to go or else… it can also mean I'm going to turn into a half fucking fish. I can do that shit on my own, but… aww Fuck… he also makes me do it for his own amusement… I can only transform in water, but if he knows I'm with someone, he kinda tries to scare them off… so I can only get this weird bracelet off if s-"

Dave looked at his wrist, finding the golden bracelet to be compleatly removed from his arm, the weight was removed, and his wrist was itchy. He then stared at you I utter shock finding you've gotten it off and are now holding it in your hand.

"Sorry, I was just trying to see how I could take this thing off of you. Apparently lock picks do wonders on magical items!"

You shrugged at him, claiming it was no big deal. He's shocked at you, getting it off just like that? By God if Dave isn't impressed. He subconsciously scratched his arm as he continued to stare.

"Holy shit…"

Dave stared at you in awe… you feel… you don't know how you feel... knowing you did something for this trapped Merman.

"As much as I feel appreciated by helping you. The water is freezing, and I'd like to get back to the boat before it takes off."

Dave nods, it's the middle of the night, you're both tired, Hungary, and don't wanna disturb the captain while he slept.

"Hey John, might wanna hold on to me."

"What why? If you want to take me for a joy ride in the middle of the fucking ocean, I ain't having it!"

Dave rolls his eyes, instead of giving you a ride on his back, he scoops you up bridal style and in one powerful kick, you both launch yourselves into the boat's swimming pool, wanting air, you break the surface of the pool. You're both gonna smell like fish or chlorine after this… with a burst of adrenaline, you beguin to laugh slowly, Dave then joins in on the fun, and you both burst into tears engaging in a hug. Your sides begins to ache so you try to calm down, soon the laughing dies down and you both let go of each other.

"Well… Shit… I'm finally free…"

"Yeah… you sure are."

You both get out of the water, your fingertips, and toes are numb, Dave however, is completely fine. And sits next to you as you're soaking wet.

"Damn dude. You're freezing cold. Like Antartica cold. How the Fuck are you so cold? You could make the most coldest of coldblooded creatures not even discovered yet, cry cold tears in agony and jealously. God you're so fucking cold."

You laugh at Dave's joke and lie right next to him, he's warm, really warm, as if he were a fire place on a cold winter's night. you proceed to snuggle into Dave's neck for warmth. It feels pleasant, you then feel warm hands touching your back, and a chin on your head. Your eyes are heavy, you feel drowsy, and you go limp in Dave's arms. sleep. Blissful. Beautiful sleep.

" _Hello? Is anyone there? Can you hear me? Someone?"_

 _You're surrounded by darkness, no one, but yourself, is there… you try to move upwards, but something is weighing you down, you look down at your legs, attached to one of them was a gigantic ball used for drowning people, wait, drowning? Oh shit. Are you going to die? While you look at it, your regrets and fears slice through you like a knife. It hurts. It really does. You finally reach the bottom, the light seems impossible to reach now, in this ocean full of darkness. Why aren't you screaming? You should be terrified yet you aren't. You might as well wait here until you run out of breath, you look at the ball and chain around your ankle, imagining forgiveness. Until someone familiar comes up to you and unlocks the chain around your legs then plants a kiss right on your lips. your fingers intertwine as he wraps his tail around your legs and holds you close, floating in the calm waves, you lock into a passionate kiss, it's blissful, incredible, and soft, almost as I this entire thing is a-_

Dream, it was all a mother fucking dream, a questionable dream, but still a dream. Your eyes slowly open, you're back in your room, in your pajamas, next to Dave, in a cosy bed. One of those is questionable. He's sleeping peacefully. Holding you close. Trying not to disturb him you grab an extra pillow and stuff it in your place, shit he's adorable, and is squeezing the ever living life out if it. But since he's no longer in what you assume is the ringmaster's grasp, you try to think of a way to make sure it never happens again. A disguise! Genius! Oh you are so smart. Quickly you grab a pair of sun glasses and put it on the dresser, red eyes? Check! Tatto? Hmmmm, that's gonna be tricky, luckily, you have a leather jacket at your disposal! Dave is gonna be super impressed! He's gonna say 'Wow Egbert! You've thought of a way to make me look human! Nice work!' Ok he probably won't say it like that, but it's the thought that counts! Kinda… you continue to look for your leather Jacket until your phone goes off.

It's from… is that Viriska? Holy shit that's Viriska! You decide to text her instantly.

 _ **AG: Hey Eg8ert! It's me Viriska!**_

 _ **AG: Did you hear a8out the news?**_

 _ **AG: Apparently the Mermaid has ran away!**_

 _ **AG: 8oss said it's 8racelet is inactive so he can't track it down.**_

 _ **EB: Uhh Viriska… I don't know if you know this but…**_

 _ **AG: Yeah I know, the Mermaid is with you!**_

 _ **EB: How did you know?**_

 _ **AG: I told you. I'm a psychic. I know this type if shit 8itch.**_

 _ **AG: How'd your d8 go fishy 8oy?**_

 _ **EB: Ha ha ha.**_

 _ **EB: VEEEEEEERY funny Viriska.**_

 _ **AG: Yeah yeah, is the Mermaid ok? Is she? If she is send me a pic.**_

 _ **EB: Viriska, the Mermaid is actually a Merman, and his name is Dave.**_

Quickly, you get a selfie with Dave still sleeping in bed, still holding the pillow and getting drool all over it, while you smile and hold up the piece sign, with the caption 'Dave is so tired'

 _ **ECTOBIOLOGIST Has sent a picture.**_

 _ **AG: Oh! Sorry… so is he hot?**_

 _ **EB: Yes. T-T**_

 _ **AG: Lol! Glad to hear you had fun.**_

 _ **EB: Yeah yeah, I get it. Dave's all fine and dandy now. But I don't know how this magic fuckaroo works. Like I was able to get his bracelet off with a fucking lock pick.**_

 _ **AG: Yeah. 8oss likes those for some odd reason, the person who wears it can't t8ke it off unless their master t8kes it off or someone with powerfull magic t8kes it off. 8ut a lock pick? Dang. Magical items like that just 8n't what they use to be.**_

 _ **AG: Say why do you have a lock pick anyways?**_

 _ **EB: May never know when you need it. Like opening boxes, opening doors that you've locked yourself out of, hell if Dave has some weird thing where he pops out of nowhere just to help someone, maybe we could find Atlantis as well as some treasure! It'd be hilarious.**_

 _ **AG: And a good 8ook! Like Damn I 8ought one of your 8ooks the other day and I loved it! It was amazing. 'Mystery and legacy of 8ig foot' I think. Might even consider 8ying the entire paranormal creature series once it's out! Are they all 8ased off of real life expeditions?**_

 _ **EB: Yep! I've went high and low for these things. It gets tiring. But the adventures are fun. I just wish Jake would have been there to see 'em…**_

 _ **AG: Jake? Who's that?**_

 _ **EB: My cousion, he and Jade went missing a year ago, they're assumed dead. But I still haven't given up! Probably still going through some depression stuff and I'm stuck on Denial or Bargaining.**_

 _ **AG: Ever consider the fact they could have possi8ly 8een transformed into merfolk?**_

 _ **EB: I haven't considered it. But with Dave here in my bed room, the possibilities are fucking endless.**_

 _ **AG: Ask Dave a8out it. Maybe he can shed some light on your missing cousion situation?**_

 _ **EB: I'll talk to him about it.**_

 _ **AG: I won't let anyone know he's with you RN, promise!**_

 _ **EB: Thank you Viriska, I owe you one.**_

 _ **AG: How's a8out you include me in the newest 8ook? "The Mermaid Chronicles"**_

 _ **EB: Viriska! That's a great name! I'll be sure to include you in the story and your involvement!**_

 _ **AG: Cool! L8er g8er!**_

Viriska has ceased pestering you. But for how long? You don't know. So you decide to take it to Dave and ask him about your cousins.

"Hey. Dave?"

He quickly wakes up in a cold sweat

"Lord English I'm sorry I would never disobey you! Please don't hurt him!"

Dave quickly glances around the room, looks at his wrist, and breathes a sigh of relief.

"Dave?"

"John…? Oh. Oh shit."

"Hey Dave it's ok! You're alright! You're fine…"

Dave looked up at you, then at his wrist, your hands, then back at you.

"Awww shit. John. I'm sorry I had a bad dream, I had an outburst, and holy shit this is making me look cheesy."

"Dave there's nothing 'cheesy' about nightmares! We all have them. Just the other day I had a dream about… Jake and Jade… oh God."

"... Jake and Jade?"

"Yes they're my cousins."

Dave snapped his fingers and pulled out some sort of sand dollar and pulled at it. Making some sort of phone.

"Here! I have a picture of them right here! We've been everywhere together. Paris, Rome, Mississippi. Even my home waters! Here's a picture."

Dave quickly went through his photos and found one.

"Alright, here's one! This was when we all went to Florida that one summer, of course Jade brought her girlfriend along for the ride, Feferi, then there's my brother Dirk and Jake. He and Jade keep talking about you, saying how much they miss you, how great your books are, how they want to go on your adventures, Jane's cooking, two kids named Roxy and Rose. They really miss you."

You frowned, you want to see them to, it's just… you can't and you never could…

"Oh Dave…"

"Yeah. Heart breaking as shit. Jade broke down that one time infront of Feferi, Jake did it once to… only infront of Dirk."

A lump in your throat forms quickly. They miss you. And you miss them. If that doesn't prove you're all fucking family, you don't know what does.

"Yo. Egbert. You ok?"

You quickly break down. Sobbing. Tears running down your cheeks, against your skin.

"John? John. Oh God are you ok? Shit shit shit shit!"

Dave quickly pushes his 'Phone' back into a sand dollar and gets out of bed.

"John no. John don't fucking do this. If you cry I'm gonna fucking cry. Shit shit shit, what the Fuck do I doooooo….?"

Finally he pulls you in, you proceed to let the tears fall down your cheeks and onto his chest. You hold Dave closely, God damn it, you are such a wimp, Dave's already seen two mental break downs from your family, he doesn't need to see another. But you proceed to cry. You need too. You absolutely need to let it out. But you can finally put your worries to rest, Jade and Jake are alive and have healthy relationships. You couldn't be any prouder. You finally have closure.

"Hey, John, it's ok… you're ok… you can calm down now."

You slowly pull away as he wipes the tears from your eyes.

"Seriously cry anymore and I'll transform ha."

That lightened up your mood a bit, as you beguin to smile and find comfort in his smooth hand. And smile at him.

"Ha… thank you Dave…"

"For making you cry?"

"No. For letting me see my cousins again. Jake and Jade look like they're happy, happier then they ever would be if they were stuck on land."

"Really…?"

"Yeah. I wanna go see them again. But in reality… I can't. I'm so proud that they've found a place in this world. God. I'm starting to sound like Dad."

Dave nods as he brushes a final tear away, it's comforting. It's as gentle as when your father use to hold you tight when you were younger, however, that love was always there, the motherly love was missing from your life. Especially when your father got a girlfriend. You and your Dad's Ex have never had any good connections. The only communication she ever gives you now a days, is to see if she can have some of the money that you made, despite being the leader of a mafia and making a shit tone of it. Let's just say you don't consider her a human anymore after various scenarios and she's a terrible person.

"You feel better?"

You nod, feeling much better, a gigantic weight has been lifted off of your shoulders.

"Good. There's suppose to be a dance tonight at 10, and I was wondering if you'd like to come after Dinner."

You nod once again. This would be the least he could do for this man.

Soon there's a knock on the door.

"Joooooohhhn! Wakey wakey eggs and bakey! Were like, gonna go to the pool, u and ur boyfriend wanna come?"

"In a minute Roxy! Snd Dave is NOT my boyfriend!"

You quickly get up off of the floor and grabbed your bag.

"Hey Dave me and my family are gonna go swimming, wanna come with?"

Dave gets up, you haven't really noticed how much taller he is.

"It'll pass the time. Besides, grub's in a few hours, so why not?"

You smile and head into the bathroom to get changed, while you tell Dave to grab his clothes and at least the shades you got for him.

You enter your bathroom and take off your shirt, seeing a weird blue wind shaped marking above your hip, it looks similar to Dave's tatto on his shoulder. Do all merfolk have one of these on their bodies? You don't want to know, and you hope you aren't transforming into a Merman. But hopefully it won't be a problem in the future. Hopefully. You get ready for the day, you decide to ditch the professional look today and wear your swim trunks with a tank top. Hoping no one will recognize you. Then again, only few people know who you are. So you think it's ok. As you exit the bathroom Dave is already in his swimwear with his shades on. Once he spots you he waves like the ocean… get it? Waves?... God you're terrible at this.

"Ready to go?"

Dave nods and you both exit the front door. Roxy greets you with a smile, just enjoy her cuteness while it lasts, 5 year olds aren't 5 forever. Quickly as you go, might as well have a bit of fun before dinner! Jane and Rose come out of their room as ready as they'll ever be. You all beguin to walk down the isle. Rose gives several glances at Dave, when she's doing that you know something is up. You nudge Dave's arm and gesture to Rose. He nods and looks at her, catching Rose in the act.

"Hey kiddo. What's up? John noticed you kept looking at me. You thinking about something?"

Rose, being raised to never tell a lie, spoke the truth.

"My apologies sir, I was just thinking about the news last night, you see, there was a phenomenal out break. Apparently the new Merman attraction at the fair has broken out. They don't know how he managed to escape, but he did. It's rather unusual. But has anyone told you, you look identical to the Merman? It's interesting! But if the Merman broke out, there has to be a reason for it's-"

Rose was soon beamed in the head with a volley ball, her nose began to bleed out of control, luckily it wasn't broken.

"...Owch…" Rose's voice was shakey, was she about to choke up?

Roxy of course wasn't having it, before she could do anything, a girl came running out of the pool, she seems around Roxy and Rose's age, so you want to see where this is going.

"Oh My Gosh Are You Alright? You Weren't hurt were you?"

The young girl looks at Rose for a bit, Rose nods as she grabs her hand and takes her to the life guard, Roxy follows behind to make sure she's ok. The little girl tugs on the life guard's shirt and asks for some tissues for Rose. Soon enough the life guard gives her them, leaves to go tell on the kids who hurt her, and the 3 stoo- you mean, girls come back towards you and Rose is alright.

"Hey John? Jane? Can we play wth Kanaya? Please?"

The little girl apparently named Kanaya holds her hands together and pleads.

Jane looks at you, then the girls, and back at you, she nods and you follow along with the gesture. The girls might as well have some fun.

"We don't see why not!" Jane smiles. "Don't get into any trouble alright?"

The girls nod and go off to play some games. Children really are the next generation's future. As you watch your sisters run off, Dave leans his head on yours.

"Kids are adorable."

You nod, completely ignoring Jane in the background snickering at you two.

"EWWW THAT'S DISGUSTING!"

You quickly look behind you, a woman with a child is giving you and Dave the stink eye. She begins to walk towards you two, shoving Jane out of her way, how dare she do that to your best friend ever since birth!?

"Do you two know what a bad example you two are!? Think of the children!"

What the hell is this woman going on about? What bad example are you and Dave setting for kids? That you can't lean on someone's head?

"Ma'me? Can I help you?" You ask politely

"What you're doing is infuriating. Children shouldn't be witnessing such disgusting behavior!"

"Ma'me, we're doing nothing wrong, we're just keeping an eye on my sisters."

"No! It's not that, it's you two being together! It's unnatural."

Jane quickly gets off of the floor and is ready to pounce on this son of a bitch. But you and Dave find her attitude hilarious and begin laughing.

"WE'RE unnatural? Yeah, tell that to your fucking boobs, eyelashes, and hair extensions, no one gets to decide what's natural honey."

At that the situation goes from funny to fucking hilarious! You fall on the floor holding your side's as Jane finally joins you on the dark side, Dave reajusts his shades and walked away towards the drink booth, the lady he's just argued with stares at him as he walks away.

"Mommy what does Fuck mean?"

"Timmy!"

The woman looks back at you as you stand up, getting the dirt off of your clothes, she comes closer to you and seems more annoied at your presents, she grabs your shirt and pulls you closer.

"Look buddy, if I see you or Blondie over there again, I'll make sure to let you two have it! People like you are killing the planet."

"And I thought that was plastic bottles! Oh silly me! Go on and douche about something else ok?"

With that final remark she grunted at you and stomped away, dragging her son behind her, stepping on Jane, who was still on the floor mind you, ignoring her, Owch.

Jane slowly got up and rubbed her back

"Geese! Who does that bitch think she is?"

"for stepping on you?"

"No! Well. Yeah that to. For telling you how to live your life! She needs to mind her own Damn business. But also for stepping on me, that hurt."

"Is your back ok?"

"Yeah I'll be fine, thanks squirt."

"I'm older and taller than you."

"Say that again. Say that to my Fucking face."

Dave came back with 3 drinks in his hands, nice. You won't ask him how he got the money, he probably got it with like… Mermaid magic or something. You really have no idea.

"So how'd you get the lady to leave?"

Dave asked as he sat down at an outdoor table setting the drinks down.

You snap and give him the finger guns "Persuasion, reason, and sass."

Dave snickers and crosses his arms, smirking at you.

"You? Sassy? I don't believe my ironic ears."

You roll your eyes and sit next to him, Jane sits on the opposite side of you.

"So did you come up with a tittle for your new book?"

"The Mermaid Chronicles"

Jane raises an eyebrow at you

"The Mermaid Chronicles, it was a tittle suggested by a friend, I even promised she would be in it, I just have this feeling she's going to help out a lot in the future. The entire book is going to be a bit different than the previous ones."

"How so?"

"Well after we leave Texas, I wanna write it about Dave."

When Dave heard that, he gagged on his drink and spit it out. Dave pushed his sunglasses up towards his head and stared at you.

"You… wanna write a book about… me?"

Dave asked, his southern accent slipping out a bit.

You nod, rubbing the back of your neck, it's something you've done for a long time, when you're not rubbing your neck you're rubbing your fingers through your hair, you only do that when you aren't wearing Gell though.

"Sweet. Say, I know you're a writer, but the other part of your job, what's a Paranormal investigator?"

"A paranormal investigator is someone who researches things that are out of this world, not natural, or creepy."

"So you're telling me I'm not natural?"

"Dave! I was just getting a lot of requests to cover you! I never said you weren't natural! Really, you're out of this world…"

You rub your neck once again and place a hand on Dave's.

"You're extraordinary."

Dave nods and pulls his shades over his eyes once more. You catch a glance at Jane who wriggles her eyebrows at you two, then shot her a look that says "Don't say shit.".

Soon enough, time passes, a wonderful dinner with your family with the addition of Dave, couldn't be better… that is after you found out Roxy and Rose absolutely HATE shrimp, you never should have let them choose it, you told them they wouldn't like it, but they ate it anyways. Oh well, that's what ice cream is for! After a disgusting meal for children is finished, you obviously had to reward them. It takes guts for a child to eat something new willingly. Ice cold rewards are nessicary for a child's survival. Soon it was time for the dance. Then you'd be heading back to Derse. After that? Home sweet home. Jane, Roxy and Rose are pooped, they got to rest early, once again. While you headed back to your room, which you have been unwillingly dragged into sharing with Dave. Quickly you head to the bathroom, ditching the swim trunks and tank top, it's still there… that weird marking tattoo thingy, is still on your side. You can forget about that, for now you need to change into something more fancy, a tux? Nah, way to fancy. Button up shirt? To simple. You decide on… oh Fuck it, you'll just wear your white shirt and blue flannel. Once you're ready for the night of your life, it reminds you of prom night back in high school when you dated Aradia, you've broken up, but have been best buddies ever since, and keep in touch. You exit the bathroom finding Dave in a plad red over shirt with a grey tank top underneath. Ripped jeans? If someone were to look at him, they'd assume he's a teenager, only the size of a 6'4 foot man. As you're only 5'9. Damn your short.

"Hey. Ready?"

You nod "Ready as I'll ever be…"

Dave proceeds to hold on to your hand and bring you along to the dance room, you've never realized how much you like holding his hand, it just felt so normal. Dave opens the door and leans on it.

"Ladies First."

"I'm not a lady Dave, but I appreciate the gesture."

Dave follows behind you as you both sit on chairs, catching glances of the other adults around you. It seems they were going for an underwater theme, coincidence after coincidence, the time you spend with Dave gets more fishy and soaky-er by the second, you always seem to be doing something water based, as if you were in a story and the author just threw places with water for you to go to in hopes of giving the audience something interesting. But you suppose you can understand that. But some books just aren't as good as others.

You notice the mood of this entire room is hard to ignore, it's full of stars, faint blue lights, Coral props, fake Seaweed. It's got everything, even Styrofoam rocks! How did they even get those? No matter, you think it's nice, and relaxing to look at on it's own.

"Hey John." Dave nudges you

You hum a response

"This place reminds me of home. The star fishes, Coral, Seaweed, even the shitty rocks look just like home."

"Really now? They're just props. Reminds me of my High school Graduation, each year they have at least an appealing theme for it. But if it makes you feel at home..."

You squeeze his hand

"I won't judge."

After a full minuet of hand squeezing, Dave gets up, stretches out his hand, and asks you the big question.

"You wanna Dance?"

You decide to pause for a minuet here. Did he. Just ask you. To dance…? Yes. Hell yes. Hell fucking yes you wanna dance with him.

"Oh I'd love to Dave, but I can't dance. I don't even know how."

DAMN IT! JOHN. LUIS. EGBERT. YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO BE SMARTER THAN THIS.

Dave shrugs

"That's ok. Neither can I!"

YES! Don't screw this up John, do NOT let your only chance go!

"Well then… let's dance Casanova."

You quickly take his hand and dance next to him. Who ever knew Newfoundland, Irish, and Texas music were so catchy! 'Heave away' is great! Until they get to the first romantic song of the night. Waaaaaiiit… is this 'Kiss the Girl' from 'The Little Mermaid'? It is isn't it? DAMN IT! NOW YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN A SAD GAY FANFIC! But that's not going to ruin your night. More specifically Dave's.

Dave quickly grabs your hand once more and places his other one on your hip. He doesn't let go.

"Dave? What are you doing?"

You ask in a monotone voice.

"Slow Dancing. Got a problem Egbert?"

You shake your head, then place your hand on his chest. Shit. Is this real life? It is isn't it? What about a hidden camera? Quick. Think of a way to-

You wish you could have finished the sentence in your head. But the music begins and pleasantly rings through your ears.

 _There, you see her._

 _Sitting there across the way._

 _She don't got a lot to say._

 _But there's something about her._

There is something. Something about Dave, that makes you think, maybe it's his smile? No no. His looks maybe! No that's not it.

 _And you don't know why._

 _But you're dying to try._

 _You wanna._

 _Kiss the girl._

Maybe… your relationship with Dave is maybe… less platonic…? A bit more than just friends?

 _Yes, you want her._

 _Look at her._

 _You know you do._

Do you think you could give it a shot? You and him. Maybe… just maybe…

 _It's possible she wants you too._

 _there is one way to ask her._

 _It don't take a word._

 _Not a single word._

What do you do?

 _Go on and._

 _Kiss the girl._

Song you are a genius. Why don't you listen to Disney more often?

 _Sha la la la la la_

 _My oh my._

 _Looks like they boy's to shy._

 _Go on and kiss the girl._

 _Sha la la la la la_

 _Ain't that sad?_

 _Ain't it a shame? To bad._

 _He's gonna_

 _Miss the girl._

John. Even though you two have only known each other for a couple days and he BARELY knows a thing about you. Or what ever. But maybe it's a normal thing in Merfolk culture…? At this point. You don't care. You ain't gonna Miss the boy.

You two dance on for a bit, moving swiftly across the dance floor, you feel comfortable in his arms, the chorus continues as the music floods your ears. Now you can imagine it. You and Dave. In a boat. One of you wearing a dress like it's summer time sadness all over again. You can't deny it, Dave would be the perfect Ariel, he'd probably admit it as well, though he wouldn't be the kind to sing and feed birds out if the palm of his hand. Floating around. In an amazingly lit pond. Fire flies glowing in the dark. God you are such a sap.

 _Now's your moment._

 _Floating in a blue Lagoon._

 _Boy you better do it soon._

 _No time will be better._

This is it. This is fucking it. The game changer of the year! It's hit or miss. DON'T. MESS. UP.

 _She don't say a word._

 _No she won't say a word._

 _Until you._

 _Kiss the girl._

You're. Going. In. Fuck it. You've got this. Nothing can stop you. The boss is on a fucking roll. You lean in. Going in for the kill. You can do this. You can do this! You can… you're to short. Fuck. You're standing on your tip toes trying to get a smooch from Dave. Shit. Is this gonna work? It probably isn't. You've gone and fucked up now. Jegus Crunchies. You've. Fucked. Up. Right? As you wait desperately for the kiss. Nothing seems to be happening. You open one of your eyes. Only To be pulled in by the cheeks and passionately be kissed by Dave. He did it. He actually did it. Dave. Kissed you! Without batting an eye! You feel like you're going to have a heart attack. It's thumping out of your chest. Is this real life? Someone please tell you yes. The crowd goes wild at you two as the song ends. You lift up his shades, his Rose Red eyes, filled with wonder as when you two had met. As you two smooch the tingling feeling comes back to your side. Worry about that later. Right now. It's you and Dave. As you two break apart you feel a warm sensation in your chest. It's the same feeling as when you were with Aradia, you two keep in touch, now she has a wonderful Husband Sollux. You really are a big time sap.

"So…"

"Sooooo…"

You both awkwardly stare at each other. Dave flips his shades back on.

"Wanna go grab a martini?"

You nod, you need the drink. Might as well get waisted!

"Alrighty, let's go, I'll pay."

"I honest to God have no idea how you have money."

"What? Even though I'm a fish out of water, I have a lack of Education and social skills with humans, doesn't mean that I'm-"

Dave pauses mid sentence as someone spills water all over him.

"Oh shit."

"I told you if I saw you again you'd get it!"

If it isn't Bitchy herself… that was low. Like. Really low.

Dave begins to sweat as he runs to the bathroom and locks himself in there.

As you saw what happened, you turned to the woman and crossed your arms.

"What the hell was THAT about!?"

The woman rolls her eyes.

"I was only having a bit of fun. Besides. It's not my fault you didn't listen to me."

"Bitch I didn't know you were gonna be here. Dave didn't know you'd be here. Why ruin our night?"

The woman smirks and rolls her eyes "Pay back. I told you. You're both un-natural. Relationships are for men and women only. You're not in love you're sick."

You pinch the bridge of your nose.

"Look lady, we already went over this. The only thing un-natural around here is your attitude. People have legitimately been killed for being gay, so have some respect. And if I'm sick. Then I don't wanna get better. No one's perfect."

"Well if everyone was Gay there'd be no humanity!"

"And if everyone was a potato there'd be no humanity. But everyone is not a potato, just like everyone is not Gay. But unless you're using the term Gay as in happiness then yes everyone IS gay. Now go off with one of your friends, I've got a night ahead of me."

You proceeded to walk away with a smile. Homophobia is no match for the power of Love. The woman behind you scowles and stomps in the other direction. You walk on over to the public bathroom and knock on the door.

"Dave…?"

"Go away."

"Dave open up… both literally, and figuratively.

"No."

"David."

"It's just Dave, John."

"C'mon let me in…"

"..."

"..."

"...Fine."

You hear the sound of a door knob click, and you watch the handle turn. Slowly. You peek inside.

"You can come in you know. Just don't let anyone see me."

You sigh and open the door a bit more.

"Ok Dave."

Slowly you peek in. Unsure if Dave is alright. He's on the floor hugging his Ruby Red tail and pink translucent fins. You close and lock the door to avoid any peakers. Always take pree-precautions. For yours and his safety.

"You doin' alright?"

Dave nods.

"Glad to hear. Don't worry about her. She's just a bitch. And a bit homophobic."

"John. I'm not worried about her. What if I didn't make it to the bathroom in time? I could have been caught, I could have been sent away again I could have… I…"

You drop down to Dave's level and get on your knees. You brush his hair out of his face.

"Dave, it's done and over with. You're ok. You made it to the bathroom in time. Your secret is safe. You aren't going to get caught. You're safe. I'm here Dave. Your knight in shining armour is here. I, John Luis Egbert. Will be here to protect you! Dave, what ever the hell your middle name and last name is."

Dave snickers at your little joke. He looks down at you. And you lean in for a hug, Dave is the warmest ironic man you have ever met, wrapping his arms around his neck. A little to tightly though as he told you to 'watch the gills'.

"Hey Dave?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"Love you to."

"no, I mean, I see you as more than just a friend."

"Yeah. So do I."

"Huh?"

Dave then cups your cheeks and your lips meet once again. Comforting. Really comforting. So much so, you bring your hands closer to his. Dave removes them from your cheeks and you hold hands, but the kissing doesn't stop, it just continues, you come to believe you two aren't going to seperate for a while.

There it is again. The warm feeling in your chest. You haven't felt like this for a very long time, it feels amazing, as if all of your worries have been able to disappear with just one snap.

"Is this… normal for humans?"

"Fuck no. Nothing is considered normal anymore. What even IS normal? A setting on washing machine?"

"Is it legal? I don't know how your justice system works."

"Fuck. Yes. It is."

Dave smiles but soon transforms into a human again, but as you two exit the bathroom, the final song of the night comes on "I can't help falling in love with you." Elvis, your one and only weakness, aside from Nic Cage and now Dave. But there are no words? Is this karaoke? Shit. It's karaoke. You hate Karaoke. But Dave grabs your hand and you two are back on the dance floor.

"Dave?"

Dave puts a soft finger on your lip.

"just trust me."

You nod once again, as you both get into your positions from last time.

The song really Begins to take a left turn into "How the Fuck is he so good" territory

"Wise Men say… Only fool's rush in."

Yes. Hell yes. Hell Fucking Yes. His voice is so good.

"But I can't help, falling in love with you."

As he cuts off those lines, you have the guts to Join the fun as you continue the song.

"Shall I stay. Would it be a sin? But I can't help falling in love. With you."

Dave raises his eyebrows, are you actually good? but a solo, soon turns into a duet. A duet by star crossed lovers. Cheesy? Hell yes it is.

"Like a River Flows, surely through the sea, Darling so it goes. Some things. Are ment to be."

"Take my hand..."

"Take my whole life to…"

"For I can't help."

"Falling in love."

"with you."

The final verse was astounding, as almost everyone joined in. Not because of you two, it's actually because of coincidence. To your dismay.

"Like a River Flows, surely to the sea. Darling so it goes. Something's are ment to be. Take my hand, take my whole life to. For I can't help. Falling in love, with you…"

Dave gently holds you closer then sings the true final verse

"But I can't help. Falling in love, with you."

Dave holds your hand and leans in to plant a gentle kiss on your head.

As the song came to a close, little by little, people exited, you and Dave followed along as many others did. You can definitely say it was amazing, but you head towards your room and prepare for the night, you lay on your warm bed and drift off to sleep. Morning comes after as your vision is blurred, someone is hovering over your head, you slowly put on your glasses to find Dave and Jane hovering over.

"Mornin' Cake pop!" Jane has her buck teeth showing and a sunny Saturday smile to match them.

"Jane how did you get in here?"

"Dave let me in."

You sit up and look at her "Dave?"

Jane nods as she passes you a tray of breakfast, it's been almost 13 years ever since Jane has made you breakfast in bed. It's sweet.

"Thank you Jane."

Jane nods "I gotta go pick up Roxy and Rose. They're with Kanaya. Don't forget, we're leaving tomorrow. Gotta help me with the girl's things."

As she leaves, you he a back into the bathroom to change into your shirt and tie, once you come out, you see that Dave sits on the opposite end of the bed, he doesn't look to happy, at least, you think he doesn't, it's a tad bit difficult to tell with the shades.

"Hey, you ok Dave?"

"Huh? Oh… totally."

"Daaaave…"

"Am I really that bad at hiding shit?"

"Yes."

"Ok ok, jeez, I'm kinda worried about what's gonna happen after you leave."

"Dave, c'mon, it's not going to be that bad. We can still talk!"

Dave looks down at you confused.

"A long distance relationship!"

He raises an eyebrow.

"if we can't talk in person, we can talk via computer!"

"John you are a fucking genius, why didn't I think of that!?... I could still visit right? I could probably bring Dirk or bro along!"

You shrug at him, it was just an idea you had. But you agree to it and look forward to his visits.

"Sweet! So uhh, can I ask you something?"

You nod, you don't know how many times you've done it at this point.

"When we were heading to your room, first night we actually spoke, I found something on your side. You have a magic marking."

"What? You mean the tatto?"

"Yeah! The thing that I said reacts to magic. You have one. It's not activated."

"Activated? What are you going on about? How do you know about this?"

Dave readjusts his shades, does that mean he doesn't want to say?

"What I wanted to ask you is, do you wanna activate it?"

Your eyes go wide when he asked you that question.

"Huh?"

"I said. Do you want to activate it?"

"Yes I heard that part, but what does that mean?"

"It means if you want to, I can activate it. You could become one of the merfolk. Like Jake and Jade did."

"Dave I don't know. Will I be able to change back? Into a human I mean."

"Yeah. You'll be able to switch. As long as you aren't soaking you'll stay human."

You put a hand under your chin, you have an entire career on your hands, if you do this, you could travel without a plane, without spending money, you could have some cool Mermaid powers! But, what about your family…? What if Dave is lying? What if you take the deal and you can never go back? You need time to think about this.

"Dave, I don't know, I need some time to think about it."

He shrugs, for a second you thought you committed some weird Mermaid Taboo.

"Ok man, just asking."

You both sit there awkwardly, you enjoy the rest of your breakfast until you get a text, it's Viriska!

 _ **AG: Hey Johnny!**_

 _ **AG: So how's Dave?**_

 _ **EB: Dave's being Dave, he still has his cool kid facade, it's kinda cute! But he just asked me if I wanted to activate a magic mark we found.**_

 _ **AG: Magic mark?**_

 _ **AG: Oh shit my 8ad!**_

 _ **AG: must've accidentally gave it to you! The Cocoa I gave you! Remem8er?**_

 _ **EB: Oh well, to late now. Besides it's cool, I kinda like it. It looks like the breath thingy from this web comic I read as a kid. I think it was HouseTrapped? I can't remember.**_

 _ **AG: Oh yeah! I remem8er that! Can you 8elieve it ended only last year? Like damn.**_

 _ **AG: Piexi Verlop was my favourite. I dunno why. 8ut she was such a 8ad ass! Looked like a princess, was actually a fucking warrior.**_

 _ **EB: Ha Ha! I remember her! I've always liked Luna and Tyzanya though. But back to the problem at hand. The marking thing.**_

 _ **AG: Oh right. Sorry a8out that though, first time it ever happened.**_

 _ **AG: What did you say to Dave?**_

 _ **AG: A8out the whole marking thing.**_

 _ **EB: I told him I'd think about activating it. Not a yes or a no. But it's an answer. Thankfully I didn't commit some Mermaid Taboo, as previously said a few sentences ago.**_

 _ **AG: What?**_

 _ **EB: Never Mind.**_

 _ **AG: Well what ever you choose, I hope you enjoy it, 8ecause 8eing a magical human is gonna cause some trou8le**_

 _ **EB: what do you mean?**_

 _ **AG: I mean it's not going to 8e easy! 8eing half human half magic is going to 8e tough. You'll need to learn how to control your powers. It isn't fun.**_

 _ **EB: How do you know?**_

 _ **AG: Look 8uddy, I don't need to explain myself. It should 8e pretty easy to decipher.**_

 _ **AG: Well, gtg, 8ye Eg8ert.**_

Viriska, oooh boy is she going to help you out through this crazy journey. Hopefully.

You look at Dave, he's going through his images. Not surprising. He likes looking back on memories apparently. As do you.

"Hey John! Look at this."

You lean over to see Dave's phone. It's a picture of Jake, who you assume to be Dirk, And two kids who look around the age of 13 and 10. Jake carrying Dirk over his shoulder. Damn he's strong.

"Hey Dave who are they?"

Dave turns to you and smiles, he places his arm around your shoulder and shows you the picture.

"Dirk and Jake recently adopted two human kids named Jude and Joey, so I guess they're like my niece and nefew."

"Awww, so did Jake and Dirk get married? When?"

"They did. Three years ago. Dirk was actually crying. You should've been there."

You sigh. You wish you could have. Seeing Jake on his big day. You would have loved that. So would have Jane, the twins, Mom, Dad, Grandpa and Nana.

"If you want I can call Jake."

Your eyes widen with shock "You can talk to Jake?"

"Yeah sure! You wanna?"

You nod furiously, finally! You'll be able to hear Jake's voice again.

Dave proceeds to dial a number, it began to ring and finally someone picked up.

"Hey!... WOAH! hey calm down there man, it's nice to hear you to… Dirk, I've got someone here who'd like to talk to Jake. Don't worry about me, my uhhh…"

You quickly nod to Dave, you guess you two are in a relationship now.

"My Matesprit knows Jake, he's a relative of his. They haven't spoken in a…. Dirk? You there?... Hey Jake. I've got someone here who'd like to talk to you."

Dave hands the phone over to you and you put it against your ear.

Then you hear it…

"Hello?"

"Hi Jake!"

"JOHN! OH MY GOD! I'VE MISSED YOU SO FUCKING MUCH! How's Jane? Are the twins doing ok? What about Uncle Jacob? How's Grandpa and Nana? Are they feeling better? What about Papa and Grandma? How's work? I'm so sorry we didn't end up finishing that book series we planned on writing, I let you down. But I fell in love, we're gonna be adopting soon. There's just… Oh Gadzooks, I can't even explain it!"

"Jake! Hold on! One thing at a time!"

"Right right, sorry. How's everyone at home?"

"Jane's doing great with the bakery and Crocker Corp, Roxy's still hyper and Rose is still a smart kid who can read big words knowing the full extent of them. They've just turned 5 actually. Dad is at home some how taking care of the twins as they age, and Grandpa and Nana are…"

"Are…?"

"Cremated and Stuffed. They've died a few months ago. Dad still hasn't gotten over it. The ashes are still in Dad's house above the fire place and the statute is in his basement."

"What?"

"Jake... They're gone…"

"Oh. John. I'm so sorry. I wish I could have known! What about Grandma and Papa?"

"They're doing ok. Grandma's slowly getting better, but Papa's having some issues though."

"John. I wish I could have been there. I'm so sorry."

"Jake none of this is your fault. But Nana and Grandpa told me that if I ever hear or see you or Jade again. They told me to tell you they love you. Both of you."

"Well, glad to hear they were still thinking about my well being. I miss them."

"So do I. Are you crying?"

"Yes. I don't know how crying underwater works, but I've just learned to deal with it."

There was a long silence after breaking the news.

"So. I heard you got married and have two kids now. Joey and Jude right?"

"Yeah! They'd be happy to meet you! Mind if they reffer you to uncle John? Ha ha!"

"Funny."

"So how's the book business going?"

"Almost finished a series, soon I'll be working on Atlantis!"

"Glad to hear! Mind if me and my family tag along for the ride? I've always wanted to find the lost city of Atlantis!"

"Sounds great! I'm heading back to Washington tomorrow so if you'd like…"

"Hell yes! I could spend an adventure on land for once! TALLY HO!"

You snort like the geek you are, you've missed Jake and his British accent, as well as his admiration for adventure.

"So. You and Dave are Matesprits now?"

"Yeah. There was a Dance last night, I tried to kiss him but I'm to short so he just sorta… you know what never mind. It was almost like they knew there was a Merman on board the ship."

"What? Did you dance to a song called kiss the girl?"

"Yeah. That's exactly what happened."

"Oh. wow. Did not expect that."

"Neither did I. But did you know that Texas, Irish, and Newfoundland music are actually really catchy?"

"John, I've practically swam everywhere with Dirk, of course I know this."

"Ok ok, just asking!"

"Well, it was nice speaking to you again Egbert! Make sure to get that Mark activated!"

"...how did you…?"

"I have my ways! Bye now!"

And with that, the phone call ended. Jake hung up. Did he want you to activate your mark? Like him and Jade have?

You don't know what to tell Dave.

"So." Dave asked "How'd it go?"

"it went alright. I didn't understand how Jake knew about my mark though."

"Jake knows this type of shit man, Jade does to. It's jus-"

Dave's speech was interrupted when the intercom came on

"AtTeNtIoN mOtHeRfUcKeRs, GeT yOuR sHiT tOgEtHeR aNd PrEpArE tO gEt ThE fUcK oFf."

"Was that the clown from the circus?" you ask Dave

"gamzee! i'M SO SORRY EVERYONE. mY PARTNER HAS SUCH FOUL LANGUAGE. pLEASE PREPARE TO GET OFF THE BOAT IN A FEW HOURS. wE WILL HAVE THEN REACHED dERSE. tHANK YOU."

"if that was the clown. Then was that the acrobat?" you ask again.

"Seems like it. Damn. I didn't know they knew how to steer a boat."

Suddenly the boat begins to tip you and Dave are slammed into each other and hold on for dear life! He puts his phone? Shell? You don't really know what it is. Back in his pocket and grips you tightly.

"GAMZEE IF WE FUCKING DIE I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"Wait wha-"

You soon met with the icy cold depths of the ocean's water, no life jacket, no sweater, no Dave. Shit. Nothing but an icy cold ocean has it's hands on you. Swallowing you whole, what about Roxy and Rose? Where's Jane? You need to know! You hold your breath and open your eyes once again. Your eyes Dart around, you see who you assume is Gamzee who most likely crashed the ship, and another young fellow who looks like the acrobat from before. It seems like they're merfolk as well, only the acrobat doesn't have half of his tail chopped off. You don't see anyone else from the ship, it's empty, very empty, you see Jane swimming the twins up to a life boat with two Mermaids, one who looks to be Kanaya, they're far away, very far away, why can't you see anyone else from the ship, it'd even be comforting to see Bitchy and her kid! You'd think you would be able to see several people, but you're the only living beings on this ship, was everything a trick? Were the guest at the carnival not real? Dave, where's Dave? Was he not real either? Please say no… your vision becomes blurred, everything fades to black. Your lungs ache, your heart does as well, you feel light headed, you can't stay awake… but you have to. Dave soon appears right in front of you, he plants his lips on yours. C'mon John stay awake. You…. You can't. You decide to let Death take you. Your vision is completely black, nothing but Darkness. But you feel his warm fingers touch your sides as he wraps his tail around you. This time. It's not a dream. It's a fucking nightmare come to life.

 _John…_

Five more minutes mom…

 _Joooooohnnn…_

'Cmon I don't wanna…

"JOHN FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WAKE THE FUCK UP!"

You look around, water, nothing but water, is that Dave? YES. YES IT IS DAVE. He has a tight grip on your arms. You don't know how you're alive, or how you're breathing or- waaaaaaiiiit. Humans can't breathe under water…

"Dave…? Am I… dead?"

"No John. No."

"Did you give me CPR?"

"No….? I don't think so? The hell is CPR?"

"Do I need to try and drown again?"

"John, no, for the love of God. Don't make me save you from drowning a third time. Just breathe ok."

You do exactly as you're told, you can breathe… didn't we just go over this? Ok John. You can breathe. But…

Your question is soon answered before you could ask it, you rub your neck and there's a strange sensation when you do. Are you suddenly ticklish? When you feel around the area you find slits on your neck. But you also find out you're shirt and tieless, really you're not wearing anything other than your glasses. You can't feel your individual legs, instead you feel one limb, you place your hand under your arm and slowly get towards your side, once you get passed your navel, you feel something rough, you can feel the warmth of your finger tips so you know they're yours, you do the one thing they tell you never to do in cartoons. Look down. Once you do so, you find one scaled blue limb replacing your fleshy human legs.

"John I know you said you haven't decided on your Mark's activation but it's only temporary! So you-"

"Dave am I a Merman?"

"Yeah John, you're a Merman."

"Did I die?"

"What?"

"Is this Heaven?"

"John we've just went over this."

"I'm dead aren't I?"

"John."

"Did I reincarnate as a Merman?"

"John…"

"Will I soon turn into seafoam?"

"JOHN GODDAMN EGBERT! CALM THE FUCK DOWN! DO YOU NEED SOME XANAX!? BECAUSE YOU'RE FREAKING OUT, SO I'M FREAKING OUT AND WE ARE ALL. FREAKING. THE FUCK. OUT!"

Your eyes widen at Dave's out burst, he was right, you were all freaking out.

"Sorry John. I just… didn't expect this… at all…"

"Sorry for freaking you out Dave."

Dave sighs "You don't need to say sorry right now. It's ok. We're going to be ok. You look great though!"

You go a little Red in the face, not as Red as when you two first met, but definitely red. But you think about one important thing.

"Dave...?"

"Yo."

"Where's Jane and the twins?"

Dave flips his shades up, his eyes are wide.

"Oh fuck."

Dave has completely forgot about them, he looks up, hoping to see them, and waves to someone, you look in the direction he is and you see the lady from before, along with Kanaya.

"PORRIM!"

Dave swims upwards and tugs you along.

"Hey Dave h+ow's life? Did y+ou miss me? I didn't even kn+ow y+ou were here."

"Porrim, my Matesprit here needs so find his family, have you seen two blonde humans and a Raven haired human?"

"Is John Looking For Rose And Roxy?"

You look at Kanaya and attempt to get to her level. Crouching isn't really an option so you float in your place.

"Kanaya, can you tell me where you saw them?"

Kanaya nods

"We Were Playing In The Children's Area When The Boat Sank, I Found Porrim With Jane On A Piece Of Flotsam, And I Helped Get Her And The Twins To A Life Boat, They're Over There."

Kanaya points to a raft a few feet away, you don't know if you're going to make it in time. You pat the little ginger on the head and swim off, you aren't use to the fins, or the tail, or the water pressure, or anything really, but you go pretty fast, not as fast as Dave who catches up to you, being nothing but a blur.

"Jesus man. You're slow."

"Shut up Dave."

Dave smirks, he seems like he's not putting any effort into swimming at all, while you feel like you're about to drop.

"You need some help Egbert?"

Your movement slows down as you breathe deeply. You put your hand on your chest, you're tired, you can't go any further.

"Yep."

Dave scoffs "Jonathan, I pity you so very much, do you have no dignity?"

You can't help but snort. "It's just John, Dave. You're also making no sense."

"John what the Hell are you talking about? I make the most sense. Don't tell me I'm confusing. I wrestled a monkey and ate a chocolate Icecream once. So yes I did learn my Alphabet."

You continue to laugh, Dave's intentional antics never ceased to amaze you, even in the worst situations he makes everything better. You don't know how you lived without him.

"Alright, let's get you home Egbert."

You put your arm around his shoulder, he holds on to your waist, soon enough, Dave is in high speed and moves swiftly towards the boat, he doesn't plan on letting you go at the slightest, until you get to the life boat, it's moving slowly, Dave lets you go and places his hands on your shoulders.

"John." He pipes up "I need you to swim as fast as you can and jump on to the boat, I'll meet you all on the shore. If you're gone for to long, I'll come looking for you and give you a hand, alright?"

"But Dave-"

"No buts."

Dave gives you a kiss on your forehead then swims off towards land.

You don't have much time, the motor to the boat could activate any time now! Quickly you get into position and swim for it, you leap out of the water gracefully and land on your back into the boat, coughing at the sudden lack of water.

"JOHN!?"

You cough up some water as your eyes adjust to the light.

"Jane…?"

Jane and the twins are baffled, speechless.

"HOLY SHIT, JOHN, R U A MERMAN?"

"ROXY! John, what happened? You're so… so… what's the word?"

Rose snapped her fingers as she tried to remember, Roxy began to smile wonderously at her brother, Jane just sat in shock at your new form. Silent.

"Roxy, what are you thinking of this time?" You ask cautiously.

"Nothin much… but ummmm…"

You look at Roxy as she eyes your sapphire tail.

"Can I touch ur tail plz?"

You hesitate, Dave seemed pretty ok with touching you with his tail, so you assume it can't be sensitive. You nod your head and let Roxy touch your lower half.

She reaches for your tail, it's warm, her hand feels strange and warm against your scales, but you can manage.

"Its like, super slimey! And scaley. But I think u look p cool John!"

"Thank you Roxy." You smile at her.

Roxy continued to move her hand down your tail all the way to your fin, up at that point she wanted a closer look at it. Roxy lifted it up with a bit of struggle, but managed. Your fin flopped in her hands as she held it, it wanted water to swim in, you did as well, the craving for water was all you had. But there was a more important issue at hand.

"This is astounding! How in the world is this even possible?" Rose asked in shock staring at your tail "John, I need a closer look at it! May I?"

You shrug "If Roxy's doing it, you certainly can."

Rose smiles and looks at your new limb, the sea air sending chills up your spine.

Jane's been rather quiet, but finally speaks "John, are you alright?"

You nod a bit, but you'd like some water right now.

As if she read your mind, Jane grabs a piece of a sail in the water that's soaking wet and wraps you in it. You grab on to it, the water feels warm, opposed to when you had first gotten into the soaking depths.

"I don't want you dying on me Bro." Jane covered you in the soaking cloth. You're greatful you have a wonderful twin such as Jane.

"Where's Dave?" Jane asked, concern in her voice. "Is he alright?"

"Dave's gone back to Derse, he said he'd meet us there." you respond, holding the piece of cloth tightly.

"He swam all the way to shore?"

"Yes. He did. He's a Merman Jane."

Jane looks shocked at the news, but completely understands somehow.

"So how do we get to land?" Jane asks, worry in her voice.

"What? There's a motor isn't there?" You ask.

"There is." Rose responds "But it's old, busted, and out of fuel! We can't possibly make it back to Derse!"

"There's not even any ores?"

Rose shakes her head in utter defeat. "Unfortunately…"

"GREAT! Now how do we go home?" You ask with worry.

Suddenly, you have an idea, if you can't row, you can swim your way back. You flip over as the cloth that was wrapped around your body, falls to your tail, and Roxy lets go of your fin. You pull yourself to the edge, you shake the cloth off and dive back into the icy cold waters, spraying your family as you do. You then resurface.

"JOHN GODDAMN EGBERT! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" Jane grips the edge of the boat.

"Getting us the hell outa here!" You say with determination. You duck back under and hold on to the boat, you push it along with you as you navagate your way through the water.

Unfortunately you accidentally cut yourself on a piece of drift wood along the way, but your blood is no longer red. It's a cobalt blue, the salt stings your wound, so you resurface, you're halfway to land, you can see Dave in the distance.

"John, y'd we stop?" Roxy asks you with concern. "Were almost there!"

You place your arm on the edge of the boat, Jane covers her mouth and gasps at the gash spewing out the blue blood. Rose tries not to gag and Roxy looks horrified.

Quickly she runs to the end of the boat and grabs a med kit, thank God, Jane walks over towards you and sits down, opening the med kit, she takes out some disinfectant and drops some on a cotton ball. "This is going to sting ok John?"

Jane proceeds to clean the area, she's right, it does sting! It stings like hell! You resist the urge to scream, but it doesn't stop you from making a pained face, once Jane is done, she grabs ghas and wraps it around your arm, thankfully not saying anything about your new blood color.

You're all patched up now, so you swim back over to the side of the ship, only you're above water now, swimming your way towards the shore, you push the boat in on the sand, and lay on the beach as the tide comes in and out, the water flowing on your tail. Dave spots you while he waits, back in his ripped jeans and plad red shirt, he runs over towards the boat to help Rose and Roxy out of the boat.

Roxy smiles at Dave as he helps her out.

"Thxs Davey." Roxy pecks Dave on the cheek and gets down to the beach, runing towards her sister.

Dave felt his cheek and smiles "Kids…"

Jane finally gets out of the boat and smiles at Dave, she then walks back on over to the twins. Dave finally sees you, lying on the beach, exhausted beyond belief, sand littered across your skin. The blood already staining the Gha on your arm. You hear Dave running over to you, he picks you up in his arms and spins you around for a short while as if this were a cheesy 80's movie.

"JOHN!"

"Dave…" You can barely mutter a word, Dave brings you into a hug as your fin drags along the sand of Derse.

"John, your arm! Wha-"

You shush Dave, you just want to be in his arms, you bury your face into his neck, you just want to cuddle him as he cradles you in his arms. You just want to sleep, it seems like a good idea.

Soon enough, you get your wish, sleep is what you get. Once you awake, you're back into your apartment, fully clothed, and human again, next to you is Dave, he seems fast asleep, you remember some good ol' pranks you could pull on Dave, one was putting his underwear and socks into the freezer, while the other was pouring water on his Hand to see if he'd wet the bed. But you proceed to check your phone, mostly for the time, it miraculously survived the entire thing, finding a borage of texts from Dave. He must have messaged you while you slept.

Apparently his user name is TurntechGodhead. What a surprise once you think of it.

 _ **TG: Hey.**_

 _ **TG: Hey John.**_

 _ **TG: When you get up or whatever**_

 _ **TG: If you're up before me.**_

 _ **TG: Don't fucking pour water on my hand to see if I'll wet the goddamn bed. 'Cause you know it Won't work**_

 _ **TG: Jane told me you like to pull pranks**_

 _ **TG: So don't try anything stupid.**_

 _ **TG: Anyways GN.**_

 _ **TG: Love you :)**_

Don't do it John, you'll most likely be in hell for it. No. Don't do it. Don't get out of bed. John. John no. Don't go into the kitchen. JOHN. JOHN NO! GODDAMN IT JOHN, YOU ALREADY HAVE THE GODDAMN WATER BOTTLE IN YOUR HANDS!

You can't resist the urge! You're the pranking master! And he better fucking know he can't stop you. You begun to slowly pour water down Dave's hand, it flows down his arm and his mark begins to glow, you assume he had just transformed due to the change in shape and lack of clothing, you put the water bottle on your night stand. The perfect crime. Dave slowly opens his eyes and sits up, you never really noticed the slightly muscular figure he had.

"John… what the hell… is going-"

Dave rubs his eye, but the realisation settles in, he goes wide eyes as he rubbed his neck finding gills, he removes the covers, his tail flapped around on the bed, wanting water.

"John…"

You snicker "Yes Dave?"

"Did you do the one thing I told you not to fucking do?"

You can't keep that dopey buck toothed smile off your face "Maaaaaaayyybe…"

Dave gave you a sly and mischievous look, he wasn't angry for some odd reason "Oh you son of a-!"

Dave tried go grab you, but you moved out of the way, but he got the jump on you, sending you both off of the bed and on to the floor still barely covered in the blankets.

"HA! Got ya! You're done for Egbert! Now prepare to face the consequences of your actions! Now you'll be bombarded with kisses. You brought this upon your self!"

Dave soon planted kisses everywhere, your chin, your cheek, your nose, forehead, and lips, even neck. You wrap your arms around his body, your hands on his back. It's quite late, so Dave's antics slow down as the rest of his body falls to the floor with a slap. His tail curled in what seemed humanly impossible, you could swear his eyes almost glowed in the dark, he got his body off of you and fell to your side.

"So Dave."

Dave hummed a response, a hint of blush on his cheeks

"Do all merfolk have colored blood?"

"Wha? Why you ask?"

You pulled up your sleeve and showed him the scratch from earlier, covered in blue, red, and violet.

"Oh. Uhh, yeah."

Dave put his hand to his chin and thought about his answer.

"Yeah, most of the time, I'm a rust blood, a low blood, depending on what blood color you have, it basically tells you how your life is gonna be lived, I have blood similar to a human's, only it's darker and looks rusty, hints the name rust blood, Tavros, the guy we saw earlier, is a mud blood, my bro, Dirk, is an orange blood, he's closer to being a gold blood though, he's a low blood, like me, then there's mid bloods, Jade is an Olive blood, Jake is a Jade blood, and you're a Cobalt blood, there's turquoise bloods, but you rank the highest of all mid bloods, then there's high bloods, Indego Bloods, Purple bloods like Gamzee, Violet bloods, and Fusha bloods like Feferi, the highest ranking. Low bloods have a short life span, and we're lucky if we even make it to 30 years of age, mid bloods will be lucky live to be like 60 years, and High bloods live the longest up to 80 years, or higher, but there is something that ranks below even a low blood."

You turn your head "What's that?"

"A Mutant, They're a light variant of any of the blood colors, an example would be a merperson who has candy red blood, that's a mutant rust blood, mutants are very rare, but you never know till you meet one. They fit right in."

You're quite intruged by this, Merfolk society sounds complicated. Would that mean you'd live longer than Dave?

"I never lived in Alternia but I helped some friends escape to find another place to live, Texas Derse is where we made our homes and new society. Unfortunately I was captured, and you know the rest."

You nod, you DO know the rest. "Life in Alternia must be very difficult then."

Dave nods as he moves his body closer to yours, he tucks his arm under you, pulling himself closer to you. He wraps his tail around your legs. you hold on to Dave gently and bury your face into his bare chest. Finally getting a good night sleep. Even if it was on the floor.

The morning came as your alarm went off, you were once again back in your bed and not cuddled up next to Dave, to your dismay, you rub your eyes and stretch, you check your phone, seems like Dave's been messaging you again.

 _ **TG: Good morning bae ^^**_

 _ **EB: Hi Dave! How did you sleep?**_

 _ **TG: Slept pretty well, I got home and was bombarded with Jake, Dirk, Jade, Joey, Jude, and Feferi love and friendship.**_

 _ **EB: that explains why you weren't in bed.**_

 _ **TG: LOL**_

 _ **TG: c'mon you know you love me**_

 _ **EB: oh I know Dave :B**_

 _ **TG: Shit what time is it?**_

 _ **EB: Uhhh 10:13?**_

 _ **EB: Why? Don't you have time on your Shell Phone Thingymabob?**_

 _ **TG: Bro was suppose to be coming home today**_

 _ **TG: He was looking for me for like, I dunno, 5 weeks?**_

 _ **TG: Dirk said he gave up and is coming back.**_

 _ **TG: I know you're leaving today.**_

 _ **TG: But I'd kinda want you to meet him.**_

 _ **EB: Dave.**_

 _ **EB: I dunno.**_

 _ **TG: I mean he probably wouldn't trust you 'cause of the whole 'Oh shit! I got captured by humans!' thing.**_

 _ **TG: But it'd be worth a shot!**_

 _ **EB: I'll have to tell Jane about it.**_

 _ **TG: Cool.**_

 _ **TG: Meet at the beach later?**_

 _ **EB: Sure!**_

 _ **TG: Alright! Meet me there. See ya later.**_

You sigh as you look at the message, your flight isn't until 6. You have enough time, hopefully.

You get out of bed and get ready for the day, you only need your swim trunks and a shirt, you walk out to the kitchen, finding Jane and Roxy making breakfast, as Rose reads the morning paper.

Rose greeted you with a smile as she sipped morning tea. "Good morning John. Did you get a good rest? Your wound is looking quite better."

You nod your head and yawn, you look at the bandages on your arm, the blood is dry. You unwrap the ghas and find a blue tinted scar, not even a hint of a scab. But you have to admit it looks pretty cool. Look out world! John looks like a bad ass!

"Bathroom."

You look at Jane

"Put it in the bathroom so I can wash it."

"Wash it? Jane you won't have time to wash it! We're leaving at-"

"It's been cancelled."

"What?"

"Our flight. It's been cancelled due to weather conditions. We're leaving in two days."

You're puzzled, would the weather really be that bad? No matter, you've got to go somewhere anyways. And you proceed to tell her about it.

"So Jane. Dave messaged me."

Jane hummed in response as she brought over the pancakes she and Roxy had made.

"And he wants me to meet his brother, he's been searching for Dave for a while and is coming back, Dave doesn't know how this'll turn out. But he hopes he'll like me."

Jane nods as she munches down on the food. Roxy eats like an animal and Rose just eats it, placing a few berries down to make a happy little squiggle. Looked like an octopus.

"As far as I know, he might have a thing against humans, I just hope he doesn't try to kill me…"

"Well, don't worry about fist impressions, he's Dave's brother, he has to like you regardless, it's not like you're a real threat to him or Dave, you are the one who saved him from some random guy at the fair after all."

You nod, Dave probably told his oldest brother all about him. Maybe he's chill, then again he did spend almost two entire fucking Months searching for him.

as you finish up your meal, you grab a bag and put all the essentials in, towel, sunscreen, extra clothes, a few buckets for making sand castles, your waterproof camera, sandwiches, chips, and three bottles of soda, you tell your family you're heading out. A long walk should do wonders. You need it and the sun will be good for you. There it is, Derse beach, it's unusually quiet, barely any other person is there. You walk down the steps and on to the soft sand, you walk along the beach until you get near a spot by the tide pools, you might go looking for crabs and shells later on. You settle down your things and pull out your camera, the horizon looks beautiful, you take about 2 pictures until your third one, it has a familiar face in it. Dave!

"Hey Egderp!"

You move your camera out of your face and smile at Dave as he comes in with the tide, his chin rested in his hand.

"Hi Dave! What happened to your brother?" you ask

Dave runs his hand through his wet hair. "Bro said he had to grab something, I don't know what."

You shrug as you show the pictures you had just took to Dave.

"Sorry about the last one, if you want you could try that again."

"No! No! It's ok. It's perfect the way it is…"

Dave gently hits you with his fist as he continues to lay on his stomach smiling. You don't understand why he's still wearing his sunglasses, but it seems like he likes them.

"DAVE WATCH OUT!"

Suddenly a harpoon speeds besides your head almost killing you, heating up the sand. You could even see specs of glass.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Dave got up and looked behind him "BRO!?"

You looked behind Dave, there was a muscular man with weird Anime shades covering his eyes, and a heart shaped marking on his chest, similar to Dirk. He stood in a dramatic position as if he's going to save someone's life, or in your case, completely wreck it. He looked familiar to you, but you couldn't put your finger on it.

"DON'T WORRY BRO, I AIN'T LETTING YOU GET TAKEN AWAY BY SOME DAMN HUMAN AGAIN!"

The other blonde male stood tall and proud.

"DUDE! YOU ALMOST KILLED MY MATESPRIT!" Dave yelled in shock

"Matesprit? Aww fuck, sorry bro, shit my bad. John right?"

Dave's brother didn't move any closer. But crossed his arms smirking. You hold on to Dave's arm gently.

"Dave." You whisper.

Dave turns his head to you "Yo."

"Your bro scares me."

"No shit he scares even fucking me!"

Dave's bro furrows his eyebrows "Gonna answer my question?"

You nod furiously at him.

"Cool." He gives you a thumbs up, making you ease up a tad bit. But you're still weary.

Suddenly he was gone, but in a blur, appeared besides Dave, making him jump, he was in one of those "Draw me like one of your French girls" poses

"So where you from?"

You sweat a bit, you're terrified.

"W-Washington P-Prospit…"

Dave's bro puts his hand on his chin "Prospit huh?"

Dave looks at you puzzled "Prospit? I think that's the sameplace where Bro and some guy named Jacob kinda had a thing."

"Was his last name Egbert?" You ask with great interest.

Dave nods "Yeah, same as yours."

"HOLY FUCK!"

You and Dave turn towards the older merman with surprise.

"Holy shit, John Egbert. No wonder you look so familiar! I use to help your Dad out when you were just a little tot! I had to stop coming since I had Dirk and Dave under my flipper, and my own shit to worry about. Can't believe I tried to kill you." Dave's brother chuckled a bit "geeze you grew, like, a lot kid!"

"Mister Strider? What do you know, my Dad use to call you D correct? My dad told me about you all, the time! He really misses you now that I think about it."

You shrug as Dave removes his shades and stares at you "Dude, what the fuck? Why didn't you tell me this, he wouldn't have tried to kill you if he knew."

"I didn't know!" You said as you fiddle with your shirt. "Didn't even know your last name was strider either."

You focus your attention back to Mr. Strider, or D, "Wait, how did you and my dad meet anyways?"

He has a smile on his face as he remembers those old times.

"Hold on to your shit. It's about to get real." Dave utters as he puts his shades back on.

 _ **Flash back to 1992**_

back in the cold springs of 1992, was a teenager of the age 17, living with his mother, he was walking along the beach side, the wind gently blowing in his face as he moved, what is this young boy's name?

Jacob Egbert, is your name, and baking and photography is your game. You were walking along the shore, hoping to get a good picture for your Mother's birthday next week. You're wrapped up in your scarf and sweater, trying to get a good Angle and view of the horizon, maybe getting the possibility of seeing an ice berg. Ok maybe you're stretching it.

You keep walking on the shore line, with your camera in hand. You then hear some grunting and swearing, someone sounds like they're in pain. You run towards the voice in the distance, maybe you'll find the person who's making it. You come across a young boy around your age, face first in the sand, covered in wounds. You shake his shoulder hoping he's awake.

"Excuse me." you say as you shake him. "Are you alright?"

The boy turns his head towards you and jumps. His eyes are wide. He slowly calms down once he sees you're of no harm.

"Sir are you alright? Why are you out here in the cold? You have nothing on!"

The other teen shrugs and rubs his arms. His nose, cheeks, and finger tips, red as a cherry.

"Here you can borrow this." You take off your jacket and give it to the poor boy.

"Thanks, but I'll- I'll- ACHOO!" The blonde boy moans "Never mind…" he takes your jacket and puts it on.

You sigh and get down to his level, that's when you notice this boy doesn't have legs but instead has a long golden tail, underneath the freezing water. You gasp and fall over, but the boy looks back down at you disappointed.

"Shit. Looks like I'm fucked."

"what do you mean? Even if I told anyone they'd never believe me!"

He raises an eyebrow at you as he grips on tighter to the Blue sweater.

"Listen, I can't patch you up here, but if you'll trust me, I can take care of the scratches and your cold."

He seems hesitant and weary, but he has no other options, he reluctantly takes your hand and you lift him in your arms. He wraps his arms around your neck. You tried your best to cover up his tail with your Jacket, he's a lot bigger than you, but you have no time to complain.

"So. Since I'm helping you I might was well, know your name."

The other teen scoffs "No."

You roll your eyes as you continue jogging.

"Never mind... I'm Jacob, it's to meet you! Where are you from?" You smile genuinely curious

He sighs "Alternia."

"What's your last name?"

"Hell no."

"Can I touch your scales?"

"Hell fuck no!"

You sigh, there's no use asking questions, you just carry on towards your house, thankfully, your mom, aunt, or any of your uncle's cars aren't in the drive way, you unlock the door, sighing with the Merman in your arms.

You head upstairs to your room and seat your new uhh… friend? Yeah sure. On to your bed, as you head towards the bathroom in your room and turn on the tap for a bath, it's not for you, it's for your Merman friend, you check for the most comfortable temperature, it's warm water, so you assume your friend will like it. The tub fills up almost to the brim. You walk out of your bathroom and grab the golden tailed Merman, then gently slide him into the water. He gives a sigh of relief and sinks down.

"You do know I can't just stand here letting your wounds get infected correct?" You grab a sponge from the cabinet and dunk it into the water, disinfecting the scratches are the first, and most important thing you need to attend to.

"Shit!" He lets out.

You give him a sour look "Profanity!"

"Geese sorry man… it hurts."

As you finish cleaning up the cuts, you grab a box of bandaids and cover the merman in them. Finally the merman starts a conversation "Why?" he sniffled

You look at him confused

"Why are you helping me? I would have been fine! I'm basically a freak of nature by your standards! Why haven't you called the police or those weird guys in the big white coats? Hell why aren't you KILLING me right now? Or trying to eat me? You'd probably get rich or immortal or something."

You think about what youre going to tell him for a moment, but settle on one thing that makes the most logical sense.

"You're half human right? You're just as equally as important! It's common knowledge to help someone in their time of need. Like I said before, no one'd belive me. Plus killing then eating you would be half cannibalism and murder."

Your new friend stares at you wounderously, as you finish patching him up.

"Wait right here. I'll get you some soup."

"It's not like I have a choice. Also wgat the fuck is soup?"

You walk into the kitchen, asking yourself questions, are merfolk not supposed to have land food? Are they allowed to have soup? What about Doritos? You sigh as you open the can and pour the soup into a bowl, curiosity before, regret after. You microwave the alphabet soup and lean up against the fridge, you decide to grab gingerale for yourself and the merman, you think gingerale is what you're supposed to drink when you're sick.

The food in the microwave is ready, you grab the warm bowl and stir the soup evenly, then bring the drink as well as food, into your bathroom, finding your friend leaning over the tub groaning.

"Are you alright?" You ask as you run over to him, setting down the drink and food on the sink.

He sniffils and moans "I'm boooooooored…."

You put your hands on your hips and sigh "For a second I thought you threw up. We could watch a movie later if you'd like."

"What ever… I guess I can watch… what the fuck us a movie?"

"I'll tell you later."

You grab a stepping stool and place the food on it, then hand the merman a spoon. He raises an eyebrow and stares at it with his cold gold eyes.

"This is soup? You humans eat this shit? The hell are these weird things in my food?"

"They're letters! If you're lucky, it might spell something!"

He looks weary at it but takes a spoonful and puts it to his lips.

"Huh. Human food tastes pretty good. Better than raw fish."

You smile gently, he didn't die so you assume he can handle things such as Doritos.

He notices your grin, and smiles back, damn, that's one toothy grin, looks like he could rip something's flesh right off it's bones.

You think he's warming up to you!

"But the fuck is this weird thing?"

"It's a glass."

"Yeah. I know that, but what's the bubbly shit in it?"

"It's gingerale, I've heard you're supposed to drink it if you have a stomach ache or the flu."

The Merman shrugs and eats the food, but leaves the drink on the stool. Untouched.

"D. D, strider."

You look at the Merman at the letter he had suddenly said. "Excuse me?"

"Call me D!"

"You want me to refer to you as a letter?"

"I had my name taken away from me! Why else am I even here? I got banished from Alternia! So, I might as well choose my name."

You look at him with interest, D, strider… "What gave you that idea for a name?"

"You said it yourself! Sometimes the soup makes out words! I just assumed that's what it spelled."

You look inside the bowl, honestly confused "D, that spells Jpxfrd, I really need to teach you the human language."

D shrugs and eats the rest of his food. You Sigh as he finishes up with no further issues. Still not drinking the soda. You take his dishes and put them them the sink in the kitchen. You kind of like D. Little did you know he'd be gone the next day, leaving only a note behind in broken English. Implying he actually did something while you were gone. Saying how he promised he'd be back. The tub empty and drained.

He added a little smiley face at the end.

Now a few months have passed and is now summer. You and D have become pretty close and have even had unplanned seep overs on several occasions, he'd even appear in your house without warning, like in the Bathtub, the sink, the Kitchen Sink, one time he was stuck in your fish tank your mom had caught you with him, but promised not to tell a single soul. What should you two do tonight? You snap your fingers and run to the living in room, sitting next to the Tv stand is an old Harlequin, inside is your stash of guilty pleasures, Rom Coms, Horror, and Drama, oooh boy, "it's a wonderful life?" nope, "Heathers?" Nope, "Aladdin?" You love it but nope, "Candy Man?" Maybe. You pull out one random movie and read it's title "The Little Mermaid" from 1989, you were around 13 when it came out, but you're willing to watch it again. Maybe D'll like it. You grab the VHS tape and carry it into your room, close the door, and turn on your TV, but you remember Uncle Jake had an old barrel that could hold water pretty well, he used it for one of his adventures and decided to keep it as a "Trophy" and even he could fit himself in it with no issue. You run back out of your room and grab the barrel already filled with water, to your surprise. With struggle, you carry the barrel to your room and set it by your bed. The Tv is set up for the movie, all thats left is the popcorn and D, you walk back into the bathroom with a smile on your face.

"Hey D!"

He looks up at you, finally drinking soda after all this time. He raises an eyebrow and hums a what.

"I've got a surprise for you!"

D rolls his eyes "Oh boy… last time you suprised me, you completely embarassed yourself. Damn that tail was terrible."

What D said was mostly true, you kinda made a terrible Mermaid costume to surprise him with last week, you almost drowned… but it was worth it.

"It'll be great! Trust me!"

D sighs and finishes his drink and puts it down, but then smirks "Alright Jacob, whaddya want?"

You pick D up over your shoulder and whistle as you work- you mean walk to your room.

"H-HEY HANDS OFF THE MERCHANDISE!" D yells at you.

You set him Down in the barrel, he can fit his entire body in there, it's like a small tank.

"Here! You're going to love it!" You turn on the movie and skip the ads, the movie begins with beautiful animation, you certainly can't deny it. D seems intruged! He can't keep his gorgeous golden eyes off of the- did you say gorgeous?

"Ok how the hell does prince asswipe not hear the singing fucking crab and band!?"

It's been a while in the movie and D is already calling out Disney. Yeah you're definitely friends.

"I know right? Seriously is he deaf?" you ask him and chuckle "This part always confused me!"

You're not even getting close to the end of kiss the girl, and D has already made fun of the prince's idiocy.

You two end your conversation there as you let the song carry on, until D puts a hand on yours and pulls himself up on your bed, leaning besides you, resting his head on yours, shit. He's taller than you. Shit shit shit. Abort. Abort! You look out the window, it's pretty late, and you're kinda tired as well, you look at D who has droopy eyes, you slowly see him drift into sleep, he's wrather cute. You look up at him, as you hum a bit of the song. Slow songs were "Maybe, if it was for just one day, I could see what it's like in your world."

You cover your mouth. Did you just say that? Yes. Yes you did… what's D gonna say? Did he hear it? Oh God. Please someone tell you no.

"You wouldn't like it."

You look up, D seemed like he's half asleep at first, but he was wide awake.

"It's really not like this shit on TV, there's no such thing as a sea witch, we can Change into a human for however long we wanna stay on fucking land. Sure we have Royalty, but that's in the Bermuda Triangle, why else do ships and planes sink there? That's all fucking Alternians."

"Really? That's all Alternians? What about you? Aren't you an alternian?"

D still has has classic pokerface. He seems void of emotion.

"Yep. But I was banished, I told you already, I lost my name and everything!"

"Oh yes." You sigh of disappointment "I remember."

D looks at you, he seemed disappointed as well. "It'd be cool if you could come with though. Like when you made that costume. It was stupid but it got me thinking… what would it be like if you were actually my kind… like we could be going on adventures and some shit… Right? Not in alternia, fuck that place, somewhere safer."

You rub your neck, you've never actually thought of this… you only made that costume because it was D's birthday, but that's all you intended it to be. D's eyes suddenly widen.

"Yo dude!" he smiles "I've got a perfect idea, how about we sleep up my place tonight? Your Mama wouldn't mind right?"

"My mother?" You ask "Your place? D, you said you live underwater, if I told my mother she'd think I'm crazy! I'd drown for sure!"

"Not with a little bit of Mermaid Magic…!" D made a big arch with his arms. Like he was trying to make a rainbow.

"I dunno… seems kinda sketchy"

"It's only temporary! Besides you'll be back in like, a day anyways! Please?"

You hesitate and fiddle with your fingers, a night with D, it doesn't sound so bad…

"Alright! Let's do it!" you finally

D has a dopey smile on his face, this is so weird, you've never seen him like this.

"Sweet! This I gonna be so fucking cool! I can't believe you wanna do this!"

You nod, this is the happiest you've ever seen him. You don't think he could be any happier.

 _ **FLASH BACK END**_

"And that's how we became Matesprits…"

You look at Dave, he looks at you, and asks "Why was the story told by John's Dad's perspective?"

D shrugs "Inconvenience? Fuck. I dunno."

You look at Dave and have a cheeky smile on your face "Heh"

Dave has a puzzled look on his face "What?"

"Your bro got his name from a bunch of random letters in soup!"

Dave gives this a little thought, then looks at you with a smirk "Yeah, it is kinda stupid."

You then grab Dave's face and move his Jaw, revealing some sharp ass teeth.

"Holy fuck! Your teeth ARE sharp!"

"Hon! I ill hite yar neck if ya dun leg go of my haw!"

"What ever you say Dave." You let go of Dave and smirk "Your bro still got his name from Alphabet soup. It's hilarious!"

Dave gave you an annoyed face, but can't help but snicker.

D gives you both a disapproving look and squints "Yeah whatever."

Dave smirks at D, something's on his mind.

"Anyways, I'll be taking that harpoon back… We've gotta go, we've got a conference with the mayor, he can get pretty crabby sometimes, C'mon Dave."

Dave nods his head "You go on bro, I'll catch up."

D nods and goes back into the blue depths.

"Look John. This is probably the happiest I've ever seen my bro. Like. Ever. Thanks for coming. I think he likes you."

Dave holds your hand and gives you a peck on the cheek "I gotta go, conferences are kinda important, see you later."

Dave dragged himself back into the water and waved goodbye, he muttered something as he went under, but it didn't bother you. You went back home to your apartment, it's best to not think about those "conferences" Dave spoke about, though they sound interesting. Best not to think about it. As you walk into your apartment you think about your future incounters with Dave. Maybe he'll visit Prospit one day. Once you get to the front door, you see a familiar tan raven, Jake! Along with who you assume is Joey and Jude!

You're ecstatic! You run over to them as Jake carries the bags about to knock on the door.

"JAKE!"

"John?"

Before he turns around, you give him a wild bear hug.

"John! It's been so damn long! How have you been?"

You pull away and look at him smiling "I've been great! This must be Joey and Jude right?"

Jake nods and gets on his knee "Well c'mon you two! Say hi to John."

Joey and Jude look at each other, then you, Joey takes out her hand smiling "I'm Joey! Jake here told us all about you!"

Jude then pipes up "Are you THE John Egbert? Paranormal investigator? I can't believe Jake is related to someone so cool! I've read all your books! Maybe you could give me your autograph?"

"Geek out later Jude, this isn't a celebrity meet up, this is a family reunion, only with out aunt Jade, aunt Feferi, Dirk, Uncle Dave and uncle D."

Joey piped Jude down for only a moment, until Jude adjusted his glasses "Yes, this is a family Reunion, thank you Joey, but we are going to be related to a DAMN CELEBRITY!"

You chuckle a bit and gesture to Jake to come inside, the English family, or Strider, you don't really know, follows you into the apartment. You open the door and call out "WILMA! I'M HOME! Wait wrong line."

Joey smirks at your joke as Jude stares with a puzzeling look, it seems like he doesn't understand.

Jane comes out from the kitchen with a cup of Joe in her hands, but almost drops it as she sees who's beside you, she settles her Coffee down on the table, flabbergasted.

"Jake…?"

"Howdy Jane. Did you miss me? Dickens how long has it been?"

Jane walks over and wraps her arms around his neck "I missed you so much Jakey… the twins'll love to meet you. And who are these two?"

Joey points to herself proudly "I'm Joey Claire Extraordinaire!"

Jude fixes his glasses "And I'm Jude Harely, soon to be strider and almost fellow creature of the depths."

Jane smiles and gets to their level "Well it's nice to meet you two! Feel free to call me aunty Jane! And welcome to our humble abode."

Jude nods and Joey gives a thumbs up. Soon enough, the twins come out of their room, Rose with a book called "Grimmdark Tales" and Roxy skipping along by her side, the duo spot you with Jake and his kids, so they run on over.

Roxy grips on to Joey's sleeve and smiles widely, as Rose wanders on over, her book still in hand.

"HAI IM ROXY! NICE 2 MEET U!"

"And I'm Rose."

Joey smiles at the twins while Jude cocks his head.

Joey leans down and holds out her hand "Nice to meet you two."

Jude is still reluctant but reaches out a hand regardless "Jude, how do you do?"

Roxy begins to drag the two to her's and Rose's room.

Jane leans on Jake "So how did you end up adopting those two?"

Jake fixes his glasses "Oh! Well, they're not officially Adopted yet. We still need to get things all cleared up. The clinic will need an address so they can be sure of where to find them, after all of the Check ups are Done and over with, we'll need to give them special Markings. Have a bed room for them in the house. It's a mess."

Jane doesn't quite know what Jake is talking about. But nods anyways, maybe Dad could shed some light on the situation? He knows a lot about adoption, since he is your father. He should know how it works.

Jake says he's only going to be up here for a short while, and has to run back to get Dirk to go to the Orphanage, adoption papers and stuff. Jane is in the kitchen making a few sandwiches for the kids, while you and Jake catch up on your adventures.

"And then BAM! I socked her right in the jaw! That's what that dastardly sea witch gets for trying to stab ME with a trident, I kept it as a trophy! Since I can't use my guns under water." Jake smiles showing off his buck teeth.

You nod as he thinks about what he's going to ask you next. "How's Dave?"

"Dave?"

"You two are clearly together, how is he. We haven't seen him in several months. What happened? Where was he?"

You have no idea how EXACTLY he got into the fair. Oh dear. "I'm honestly not sure. It was something about someone breaking his heart and tricking him."

"That's odd, why would someone do that? What purpose would they have? Dave couldn't have been gone on land for 3 months just to be with someone, he would have told us he was going to live on land."

"Dave… was captured."

Jake stared at you. Baffled. "What?"

"He was captured, Jake. I was never there to see what happened. But I do know I was able to get that bracelet thingy off with a damn lock pick."

"John… that's… terrible."

"I saw him in the annual Derse fair. And he just looked at me. Like I was something he's never seen before. And I guess I was drawn to him."

Jake stared in disbelief, trying to comprehend that entire situation. "Dave's home now. John. How'd you do it? With just a lock pick?"

You shrug, honestly you have no idea. It's a strange situation.

"Maybe it's because of all of that magic from your adventures, it took in so much of it that it's now an insanely magical item! That would make the most sense." Jake had a good idea. It explained so much. You'll take your chances.

"Hey guys, I made some food if you want any!" Jane called out

Soon there was the sound of a door bursting "COOOOOKIES!" You knew that voice all to well. Roxy thought there were cookies. You know what happens when Roxy's on the hunt. The other kids calling out to her.

"ROXY CALM DOWN!" "GADZOOKS!" "IS THIS PARANORMAL ACTIVITY!?"

Roxy came flying into the kitchen and snatched up the entire pan full of sandwiches, but screeched to a stop. "OI! These r'nt Cookies! There sandwiches! Sorry Janey."

Jane sighs and takes the pan from her hands. "It's alright Roxy, nothing was waisted anyways."

Even after she realised how silly she was, Roxy still took a few sandwich slices. The other children came out and sat down. The remaining 3 took some food to satisfy their hunger.

"Me and the kids should be going soon. Dirk wanted to meet up at the beach. Come on you two!"

Joey and Jude finished up their food and got up "Coming Jake!" "Rodger."

Jake got up from his seat and stretched. "Anyways, can't wait to see you again John. We're off!"

Before they could leave, you grab a peice of paper and write on it. You tap Jude on the shoulder and hand it to him

"I believe a little someone wanted my Autograph?" You wink at him.

Jude delicately takes the small white square, looks at it and gives you a gigantic smile "Thank you mister Egbert!"

You ruffle his hair then he goes to catch up with his sister and Jake.

You can't help but feel warm inside as the Striders go off towards the ocean. Several hours later, it's dark outside, the unbearable Texas heat has gone down, the pitter patters of the rain are heavy, distracting you. As you stare out the window your phone buzzes.

 _ **AG: Ayyyyyye John! How's my favourite weirdo!**_

 _ **EB: Hello Viriska! :B**_

 _ **AG: Did you hear a8out the massive storm? I heard it's gonna 8e nuts. There's gonna 8e a flood and everything.**_

 _ **EB: Storm?**_

 _ **AG: Yeah. Headed str8 for Texas, we had to close early just 8ecause of it.**_

 _ **EB: You had to cancel a carnival day?**_

 _ **AG: What? No! That closed the day Dave escaped. Everyone was told to hunt him down or get fired….**_

 _ **EB: And?**_

 _ **AG: We all got fired. LOL**_

 _ **EB: Viriska that's terrible! You lost your Job!**_

 _ **AG: Actually no. My real jo8 is at the Salt and Pepper Diner. The carnival was just a side gig. It was for the 8est.**_

 _ **AG: Nepeta can finally go 8ack to her Vet jo8. Gamzee and Tavros are 8ack in the sea. And our 8oss is desper8 to new workers.**_

 _ **EB: The ring master?**_

 _ **AG: Yeah. Mister English. He's head of a mafia. Surprised he didn't kill anyone. So that's gr8**_

 _ **EB: The Felt?**_

 _ **AG: Yeah that one.**_

 _ **AG: 8ut a8out the storm…**_

 _ **EB: That's the whole reason my flight was canceled.**_

 _ **AG: Damn. Reminds me of when I went 8ack to the Mississippi. A lot of rain I tell ya.**_

 _ **EB: The more you know**_

 _ **AG: My other 8oss is calling me, needs some help with the last orders of the day. I'm workin' overtime. Working my Ass off.**_

 _ **EB: Uhh GTG Jane's calling me.**_

 _ **AG: Nice talk.**_

 _ **EB: Yeah, nice talk, catch you later!**_

You turn off your phone and put it in your pocket, then walk to Jane

"Hey Jane what's up?" You ask calmly

As Jane finishes up the dishes she speaks "There's gonna be a-"

"Flood?"

"Yep. It's gonna be going all around the city, I might even see some trash cans floating by. I don't know how People bellow the apartment are not gonna be soaking wet from the run off. Might even flood the house a bit." she giggles at her joke "But in all honesty, I hope the neighbors are going to be ok."

Jane yawns as she drains the suddy kitchen sink water

"Anywho. It's late. We best get to bed."

You agree. You soon leave Jane to do… what ever she does, and head to your room, you rub your eyes and drop on your bed. Exhausted.

Not even three hours of sleep later, someone pounds on the door, they're outside in the cold. You put on your glasses and escape the warm blankets. You calmly walk to the front door. They're trying to twist the handle and banging furiously.

"John? Jane? Roxy? Rose? Any body? Please open up! It's an emergency! Please I'm begging you open up! John if you're up! Please let me in! Please! It's Uncle Dave!"

Dave…? You only know one person who has called Dave 'uncle'. Joey. She seems to be in a panic. You quickly open the door. "Joey? What's going on? What ha-"

You were soon fearcefully hit upside the head… all you could make out was a skeletal man, he was insanely blurred. That wasn't Joey… you've been tricked! Something was placed on your wrist and you felt a warm feeling coming from the area your mark is lo-. Oh. Oh dear. Slowly, everything fades to darkness.

 _ **JOHN: Be Dave**_

Your name is Dave Elizabeth strider, a 23 year old Rust Blooded merman, and the current Mayor's son. The sounds of a storm, a flood to be exact, are the only things keeping you awake… currently, you're finishing a project your "Dad" needed you to work on. He's not really your Dad, it's just what you call him, he's the mayor of your small Town "Can Town" Great name. You know. Your Dad's a crab. Like. An actual crab. Princers and all. What can you say? The project you're working on is a Piece treaty, so Can Town's merfolk and derse's Humans can profit off of each other. You don't know what your Dad was thinking, since you know humans, other than John, your "Old Boss" and "Co Workers", have no idea of your kind's existence. You keep concentrating on your work when suddenly.

"OWCH!" a sharp pain spreads across your head. And a heavy feeling dawns on your wrist. You try not to think about it. Until your head is plauged with visions. You're on the floor of… John's apartment? And attached to your wrist is… Ra golden bracelet? oh no. No no no no no. Not John, what in Neptune's name is going on?

" _Dave!"_

"Uhh who the fuck is this?"

" _It's a friend of John's. I'm Viriska, listen, I don't have much time to communicate with you, what you're seeing here is a kidnapping, no not a Kid Napping. Someone you just so happen to love more than the water you 8reath is in trouble. He's trapped on a 8oat heading for Alternia, Jane, Roxy, and Rose are asleep, you'll need to get John off of that boat PRONTO! Get your brothers! Your Dad! A friend! Just meet me at the shore!"_

"Wait! I still don't get it? Who are you? How are you-?"

You wait for a response, she's gone. Who ever this Viriska person is. She's probably messing with you. But you can never be to sure. Just in case, you decide to talk to John.

 _ **TG: Hey, John, are you there? It's 12:00 right now. I know you're up.**_

 _ **TG: John! C'mon.**_

 _ **TG: Dude you always pick up! Don't scare me like this!**_

 _ **TG: Babe?**_

 _ **TG: John! I am not playing these games right now!**_

 _ **EB: HEY, DID YOUNHEAR ABOuT THE KIDNAPPING, HE NEVER WOKE uP!**_

 _ **TG: What the?**_

 _ **TG: The hell is this?**_

 _ **EB: hello there David, it's an honoUr to speak with yoU again. EVEN AFTER BREAKING YOuR LITTLE MERMAN HEART. oh how fUn that was!**_

 _ **EB: MESSING WITH YOuR FuCKING EMOTIONS. how delightfUl it was!**_

 _ **TG: You.**_

 _ **TG: Where's John?**_

 _ **EB: JOHN? ha! THAT LITTILE DIM WIT IS HEADING STRAIGHT TO ALTERNIA WITH uS. what else is a more fitting pUnishment than being swallowed by vicioUs mermaids and mermen?**_

 _ **TG: You'll die to!**_

 _ **EB: OR WILL I?**_

 _ **TG: uh. Yeah? You kinda will dip shit. The high blood hunt is kinda nightly.**_

 _ **EB: ha! OH MISTER STRIDER! yoU always manage to make me laUgh. SILLY IS IT NOT? alternian highblooded merfolk can not tell the difference between hUmans and merfolk, if they smell blood, sense weak magic, or sense a ship incoming, they have something to begUin feasting Upon, dUring the nightly hUnts, they will devoUr anything that is with weak magic, I will be safe. MY MAGIC IS STRONGER THAN YOuRS.**_

 _ **TG: Let my boyfriend go! What did he ever do to deserve this?**_

 _ **EB: oh woUld you look at the time? GOOD BYE DAVID!**_

That bastard… that green skulled, Eight ball eyed, swirly cheeked, mafia leading, Bastard! First he captures you for monitary gain, then kidnaps your matesprit? Why you ought to knock his lights out! He can take YOUR freedom, but not John's. Quickly, you grab a bag you found a while back. You open the door when something shiney catches your eye. A lock pick? It's one with extremely strong magic contained. Above you is a boat, one you know to well, this must be John's pick! The same one he used on you. You stuff it in your bag and swim off. The shore is in plain sight. You can almost feel the sand. Oh… wait.

"Oh thank God!" She breathes "Dave, glad you made it."

You raise your head up a bit more out of the water, making I fully visible "How do you know my name…?"

The lady gives you a determined look and shoves her hands into her pocket "Viriska, I'm a friend of John's, he's told me a8out you."

"Come on. We've got an Eg8ert to save!" as soon as she left the beach in her boat she had the paddles going at increadible speed, telekinesis is a useful skill… if only you had it. Viriska keeps an eye on the gigantic, neon ship in the distance, most likely filled with thousands of felts.

You follow behind in hot pursuit. Until the boat stops and you crash, head first, into it, your nose is broken, the rusty blood spewing out of your nose like a faucet, you cover it with your soaked hands, hoping it doesn't attract any highbloods. You lean on the rim of the boat an ask "Hey! What's the big idea? Why did we stop?"

She then shushed you and pointed to the gigantic green ship. It resembled a fairy, but with less… cars? You think they're called. And more... guns.

"If we're smart, we can get inside. But we're going to have to be smart."

She gives it a quick inspection "We could enter from the back of the boat, there's a little section where we could park. Or something like that. Once in we could grab some of the Felt's suits and sneak our way in. And try to find john."

You smile "That's a solid plan V. Except, where are we-?"

Before he could finish,Viriska pointed to a row of lockers.

"Oh…"

Viriska quietly rows the boat towards the boat, and quickly gets on the ship, then helps you up with a small hand.

Viriska and you quietly sneak on to the boat. Up against the wall near the door. Until you peak into the main hallway, catching a glimpse of two of the Felt members. And accidentally make a sound

"You 'ear somethin'?"

"It's most likely that Orange hat guy tryin' to freak you out."

You turn to Viriska who signals something, which you have no idea what. She gives a sigh of annoyance and telepathically speaks to you while signing.

" _Alright Dave. I'm going to create a distraction, you run and grab the suits."_

You nod as you wait by the door, a shovel being picked up by her. Damn, telekinesis is still cool. Quickly she strikes the small purple hated man with it, causing him to turn and face the bulkier and taller man.

"WHY YOU LITTLE!"

He proceeded to jump on to him and a fist fight began. You quietly ran past the two, grabbing two uniforms.

quickly you pass over a neon green jacket with random numbered hats. "We split up. If questioned, tell them we're new recruits."

"I'll go to the bottom part of the ship and stop the engines. You look for John. Got it?"

At that, you went your separate ways. Viriska went to the lower level and you explored the current floor you were on.

As you remember. You explore the different areas of the ship. Strangely. It was much like the cruse ship you on not to long ago. Something then flies right by you, a soft echo gone through the halls. When you turn around you see… a woman… she greatly resembled "Bitchy", in fact, judging by that Echo. Maybe it was… you slowly walk towards the room you and John stayed in, the door was cracked open. You quietly peek inside. John is right there, his foot tied to a ball and chain, but really, they weren't legs at all, instead all you saw was a long blue tail, appearing dried. preventing him from moving.

"TELL ME. where is my prise posetion?

"I'm not telling you and I don't even know myself! For all I know he could be in the Caribbean sea!" John spews out "I'm not letting Dave become one of these ghost roaming the hallways!"

"BuT YOu WILL?"

"What would be the point? You only want him so you can keep living for one hundred more years! Like I'm going to-"

Before he could get another word out, the intercom came on "All felt members have your ear plugs in, we are approaching the Bermuda Triangle, home of Alternia. Mister English report to the Captain's quarders please, mister English."

Lord English sighed "I'll deal with yoU later."

Lord English left the room you were near and turned in the opposite direction. Causing the giant to not See you. His long jacket trailing behind him as he carried his staff. But in the room entered a lady, dressed in black with the number eight on her hat. She chuckles as she walks closer.

"If it isn't my little money maker…"

John scowled "SnowMan…"

"Oh don't be so surprised sweetie, your mommy's right here."

John flinched at this woman's touch "Mommy? Oh please, like I'd consider you my mother. You weren't even close to getting a ring from Dad."

The lady apparently named SnowMan, took out a water bottle and took a sip. Aparently taunting John.

"Don't worry honey. I ain't killin' you today. Luckily I absolutely hate my boss. So I'm willing to give you this water bottle."

"If?" he spoke in an unpleased tone

"No if's. At least not this time."

SnowMan passed the botte over to John "Drink up kiddo. I gotta leave, English ain't gonna run this ship himself."

Snowman exited the room, heading the same way Lord English did, but turned around and stared at you, only giving you a poker face. She smiled and chuckled "Don't worry. I know you aren't one of my men. But if you're here for John. Go get 'em. I don't pal on tellin' a single soul."

Snowman left the room, her hand proudly on her hip.

Quietly you entered the room, peering inside, you see John sitting down, his face buried in his legs. The water bottle still on the floor.

"Hey babe."

John turns to face you, and a smile cracks. "Dave!... You came… But… how?"

You smile as you grab the lock pick from your bag and unlock his ball and chain, and his golden bracelet. John jumped right into your arms as he became normal again.

"Holy fuck that hurt like hell." John breathes.

"Wait…" You paused "What hurt? John are you ok?"

"Dry scales. They aren't fun." John dryly chuckles

Despite his attempts to lighten the mood, nothing can make you happy right now. Except seeing him alright and off of this dreaded ship. You embrace him as if he'll disappear if you let go.

"Hey" John chokes

You hum a response

"I like that suit. It looks good on you. Could do without the hat though."

You chuckle at him, what a dork.

Tears. They fell down your cheeks, he's ok. He's fine.

Your moment of piece is broken when the intercom comes on "WARNING! The ship will self destruct in T- 10 minuets, all Mercenaries please evacuate emeaditly!"

John grabs a hold on your arm and you take off out of the room, taking a swift left turn down the hallway.

"John? What are you doing?!" you cry

John pants "The Bow! It's always the last part of the ship that blows up! I should know. I've been in to many of these! If Viriska is smart she'll meet us there!"

"T- 3 Minuets till self destruct. Better hurry."

"Come on! We're almost there."

"T- 2 Minuets till self destruct."

"WHERE'S VIRISKA!?"

"T- 1 Minuet till self destruct. We're doomed."

Finally you make it to the Bow. Viriska's not in sight. She must sill be be in the engine room. She's tough. She'll find her way out. Hopefully.

"Dave! I need you to transform me!" John keeps his hand firmly on your wrist.

"What? Dude! If I do that you won't be human anymore!"

"I don't care! I don't want to die! I don't want you to go home and tell Jake and Jade I'm gone! Or tell Jane, Rose or Roxy, I'm swimming with the fishes! Or tell Viriska if we see her that I'm dead! Or worse! Tell my Dad that I'm seafoam! I want to be here! I don't care if I'm not human anymore! I want to be there with them and with you! I won't be able to see the ocean and my loved ones swimming in it, I want to be by your side. I wanna keep haveing adventures! I want my story to go down in history. If I'm lucky."

You. You don't know what to say… does he… really love everyone that much? Including you? You nod in agreement. You lift him up in your arms and jump off the Bow. A warm feeling rushes through your body as you begin the magical flow. Transforming a human into a merperson would be dificult, if only they didn't have any signs of a magic markings, John has one so that's a plus. It saves you the trouble of forcing it out. Which you've heard is quite painful. Soon enough you hit the water just as the boat explodes. Pieces of debris scattered everywhere. John goes limp in your arms, his head resting on your shoulder. Out cold. He'll be up as soon as you finish this. It saves him the trouble of transforming for the first time. Which you've also heard hurts. You watch as his legs as they slowly murge together, you can almost hear the bones in his body rearrange themselves. Yikes. John is not going to wanna hear about this. You watch as they turn that well known sapphire blue and his feet fan out into a tail fin. You have no idea where his clothes went afterwards… But they'll be back once he turns back into a human.

He's finally waking up! You hold him up as he stirs awake.

"Dave…?"

"JOHN!"

You hold him tightly, refusing to let go.

John looks at himself, but brushes it off, he's looking for something… or someone… finally he spots it, all the color drains from his face. You turn in the direction he's staring at. Viriska. She's all mangled, her left arm and leg are completely gone. Cobalt spreads like a water fall. John swims up to her as she wakes up, opening her eyes slightly. Her eyes widen at the Sight of John, she covers her mouth as she coughs up blood. She's carried to the surface by John and you follow. Viriska chokes up water and stares at you two.

"Hospital…" Viriska moans

"Viriska! The nearest hospital is thousand miles away!" John exclaims

"Hospital."

"Dude come on, we can't do anything!"

"NO! HOSPITAL!"

Viriska then pointed to a boat that stopped right in front of them, the coast guard! Thank God!

 **TIME SKIP**

A while later, you and John are waiting in the hospital, your hand on top of his as he fidgits with some you got him, it'd be embarrassing if he was walking around in just a tank top and boxers. Until a nurse comes out with Viriska in crutches, her missing arm and leg replaced with Robotic limbs.

"Hey." She waves genuinely

John rushes over and hugs her "Oh thank God!"

Viriska appears shocked, but slowly hugs back, seeming tired beyond belief. You walk over and place a genuine Hand on her shoulder.

For the next two days, John, Jane, Roxy, and Rose, packed up to leave for Washington, Jake, Dirk, Jade, Fefiri, Joey, and Jude all showed up at the airport to say goodbye, as you just stood there hugging and kissing your Matesprit to no end until he left to go back home. You two kept talking no matter where you went, even visiting each other from time to time. As three years passed, you two eventually got married and adopted a Mutant shape shifter named Karkat, as Well as a Salamander John named Casey. Over all these past year's have been a wild ride for you two.

And you loved every second of it.


End file.
